


The De-Aged Doctor and the House of Hades

by Whovian101



Series: The De-Aged Doctor and the Heroes of Olympus [4]
Category: Doctor Who, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:36:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 49,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26222761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whovian101/pseuds/Whovian101
Summary: The Doctor and the remaining crew of the Argo II must find a way to stop Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter from going to war, close the Doors of Death, rescue Annabeth and Percy from Tartarus, as well as stop Gaea from waking. They've got a lot of work to do.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Jason Grace/Piper McLean
Series: The De-Aged Doctor and the Heroes of Olympus [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1717288
Comments: 53
Kudos: 17





	1. A Surprise Visitor

“Hard to port!” Nico yelled from the foremast of the flying ship.

Back at the helm, Leo yanked the wheel. The  _ Argo II  _ veered left, its aerial oars slashing through the clouds.

The Doctor glanced down over the rail. A dark spherical shape hurtled towards him. He hit the deck just as the boulder hurtled past.

_ CRACK! _

The foremast collapsed – sail, spars, and Nico all crashing to the deck. The boulder, roughly the size of a truck, tumbled off into the fog.

“Nico!” The Doctor ran to Nico’s side as Leo brought the ship to level.

“I’m fine,” Nico muttered, kicking folds of canvas off his legs.

The Doctor helped him to his feet and they made their way to the bow. The Doctor glanced over the rail again. The clouds parted just long enough to reveal the top of the mountain below them: a spearheaded black rock jutting from mossy green slopes. Standing at the summit was a mountain god – one of the  _ numina montanum  _ for the Romans, and an  _ ourae _ for the Greeks. Either way, they were not fun.

Much like the others they’d faced, this one wore a simple white tunic over his rough dark skin. He was about five or six meters tall and very muscular, with a flowing white beard, scraggly hair, and a wild look in his eyes. He bellowed loudly and, with his bare hands, pried another chunk of rock from his mountain and began shaping it into a ball.

Yes, the Doctor had tried to negotiate with these creatures the first six times they came across them, but it was very quickly evident that they were not ones for negotiation.

The scene disappeared in the fog, but when the mountain god bellowed again, other ourae answered in the distance, their voices echoing through the valleys.

“Stupid rock gods!” Leo yelled from the helm. “That’s the  _ third  _ time I’ve had to replace that mast! You think they grow on trees?”

Nico frowned. “Masts  _ are  _ from trees.”

“That’s not the point!” Leo snatched up one of his controls, rigged from a Nintendo Wii stick, and spun it in a circle. About a meter away, a trapdoor opened in the deck. A Celestial bronze cannon rose. It discharged into the sky, spraying a dozen metal spheres that trailed green fire. The spheres grew spikes in midair and hurtled away into the fog.

A moment later, a series of explosions cracked across the mountains, followed by the outraged roars of mountain gods.

“Ha!” Leo yelled.

But judging by their previous encounters, Leo’s newest weapon had only irritated the ourae.

Another boulder whistled through the air off to the starboard side.

Nico yelled. “Get us out of here!”

Leo muttered some rude comments about the ourae, but turned the wheel. The engines hummed, the magical rigging lashed itself tight, and the ship tacked to port. The  _ Argo II  _ picked up speed, retreating northwest, just as they’d been doing for the past two days.

Once they were out of the mountains, the fog cleared. Below them, morning sunlight illuminated the Italian countryside – rolling green hills and golden fields. 

Nico picked mast splinters out of his arms whilst Leo punched buttons on the ship’s console.

“Well,  _ that  _ was sucktastic,” Leo said. “Should I wake the others?”

“They need rest,” Hazel said. “We’ll have to figure out another way on our own.”

“Huh.” Leo scowled at the monitor.

Ever since Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus, Leo had been working almost nonstop. Not that the Doctor could judge, he hadn’t stopped to sleep or eat since then either.

“Another way,” Leo muttered. “Do you see one?”

On his monitor glowed a map of Italy. The Apennine Mountains ran down the middle of the country. A green dot for the  _ Argo II  _ blinked on the wetern side of the range, a few hundred kilometers north of Rome. Their path should’ve been simple. They needed to get to Epirus, and to do that, all they had to do was go directly east, over the Apennines and across the Adriatic Sea. But every time they tried to cross the mountains, the mountain gods would attack.

For the past two days they’d skirted north in hopes of finding a safe pass without luck. The ourae were sons of Gaea, which made them  _ very  _ determined enemies. The  _ Argo II  _ couldn’t fly high enough to avoid the attacks. And even with all its defenses, the ship couldn’t make it across the range without being smashed to bits.

Overall, it was not good.

“It’s our fault,” Hazel said. “Nico’s and mine. The numina can sense us.”

She glanced at Nico. He looked significantly better than when they’d rescued him, he’d started to regain his strength, but he was still horribly thin – his black shirt and jeans hung off his skeletal frame. His long, dark hair, only accentuated his pale skin and sunken eyes.

Nico gripped the hilt of his sword. “Earth spirits don’t like the children of the Underworld. That’s true. We get under their skin –  _ literally _ . But I think the numina could sense this ship anyway. We’re carrying the Athena Parthenos. That thing is like a magical beacon.”

“We’ve got a few options.” The Doctor said. “We can keep trying to cross the mountains –”

“Which clearly won’t work.” Leo said.

“We can sail around the southern tip of Italy –”

“That’s a long way,” Nico said. “Plus, we don’t have…” His voice cracked. “You know…our sea expert, Percy.”

The name hung in the air like an impending storm.

“Or we can continue north.” The Doctor continued, breaking the silence. “There’s a chance we could find a break in the mountains.”

Leo fiddled with the bronze Archimedes sphere that he’d installed on the console. The sphere grew a camera lens and projected a 3-D image of the Apennine Mountains above the console.

“I dunno.” Leo examined the hologram. “I don’t see any good passes to the north. But I like that idea better than backtracking south. I’m done with Rome.”

“Whatever we do,” Nico said, “We have to hurry. Every day that Annabeth and Percy are in Tartarus…”

He didn’t need to finish.

Nico scowled at the Italian countryside below them. “Maybe we  _ should  _ wake the others. The decision affects us all.”

“No,” Hazel said. “We can find a solution.”

“We could try to hide ourselves from the ourae…” The Doctor suggested half-heartedly.

Nico sighed. “If I was on my own, I could shadow-travel. But that won’t work for an entire ship. And honestly, I’m not sure I have the strength to even transport  _ myself  _ anymore.”

“I could maybe rig some kind of camouflage,” Leo suggested, “Like a smoke screen to hide us in the clouds.” He didn’t sound all that enthusiastic.

They fell into an uncomfortable silence. They’d been doing that a lot lately. The Doctor had become much quieter since…since Percy and Annabeth…

“Arion.” Hazel murmured.

“What?” Nico asked.

The Doctor grinned and Leo let out a happy whoop as the dust cloud in the distance got closer and closer.

“It’s her horse, man! You missed that whole part. We haven’t seen him since Kansas!”

Hazel laughed.

About a kilometer north, the small beige dot circled a hill and stopped at the summer. He reared and whinnied – the sound carrying all they way to the  _ Argo II. _

“We have to meet him,” Hazel said. “He’s here to help.”

“Yeah, okay.” Leo scratched his head. “But, uh, we talked about not landing the ship on the ground anymore, remember? You know, with Gaea wanting to destroy us and all.”

“Just get me close, and I’ll use the rope ladder.” Hazel said. “I think Arion wants to tell me something.”

The Doctor insisted he accompany Hazel, who reluctantly agreed, and so the two of them descended the ladder together.

As soon as Hazel reached the ground, she ran to Arion and threw her arms around his neck. “I missed you!” She pressed her face into the horse’s flank. “Where have you been?”

Arion nickered,  _ “No time, we’ve got to go!” _

“You want me to come with you?” Hazel guessed.

_ “Yep, yep. Come along.” _ Arion said urgently, bobbing his head and trotting his place.

“Hazel! Doctor!” Nico called down from the ship. “What’s going on?”

“It’s fine!” Hazel called back, crouching down and summoning a golden nugget from the earth to feed Arion.

“He wants to take us somewhere!” The Doctor called up.

Leo and Nico exchanged a nervous look.

“Uh…” Leo pointed north, “Please tell me he’s not taking you into  _ that?” _

The Doctor looked towards where Leo was pointing. About a kilometer away, on the crest of the next hill, a storm had gathered over some old stone ruins. A funnel cloud snaked its way down towards the hill like an inky black finger.

The Doctor looked towards Arion. “I assume that’s where –”

_ “Yep! Exactly!” _

“That’s the place.” The Doctor confirmed.

Hazel looked warily between the storm, Arion, the Doctor, and the ship.

“We’ll be okay!” She called up to Leo and Nico. “Stay put and wait for us!”

“Wait for how long?” Nico asked. “What if you don’t come back?”

“We will!” The Doctor promised. 

Hazel looked at him. “I really hope you’re right.”

“Trust me. Me too.” The Doctor sighed.

Hazel spurred Arion, and the three of them shot across the countryside, heading straight towards the growing tornado.


	2. A Visit From Hecate

The storm was swallowing the hill in a swirling cone of black vapor.

Arion was charging directly into it.

Soon, the Doctor, Hazel, and Arion were at the summit. The walls of the storm encircled the hill in murky black. The sky churned gray. The crumbling ruins were bleached so white, they almost glowed.

In the eye of the storm, the air was still. Before them, an arched gateway led through mossy walls and into a sort of enclosure. Though the Doctor couldn’t see all that much through the gloom, he could feel a powerful presence within. It was pulling irresistibly, dragging him forwards.

But it was Hazel who hesitated. She reined in Arion, and he clopped impatiently, the ground crackling beneath his hooves. Wherever he stepped, the grass, dirt, and stones turned white, as if they were being covered in frost.

The Doctor exchanged a look with Hazel. He indicated towards the tempest. She reluctantly nodded, before urging Arion on.

“Let’s go, boy.”

Arion trotted through the stone archway. Ruined walls bordered a square courtyard, three other gateways – one in the middle of each wall – led north, east, and west. In the center of the yard, two cobblestone paths intersected, making an X. Mist hung in the air – hazy shreds of white that coiled and undulated as if they were living.

Not mist…The Doctor suddenly realized;  _ The  _ Mist.

It was woven of pure magic, curling around Arion’s legs, floating through the broken arches of the ruined courtyard.

In the distance, a dog howled. Arion reared, huffing nervously.

“I’m going to dismount,” The Doctor said, “Hazel, you should stay on Arion.”

“No way,” Hazel said. “You’re not going alone.” She dismounted as well.

The moment her feet hit the ground, Arion turned and ran.

“Arion, wai –”

But he’d already disappeared the way he’d come.

“So much for being a team.” Hazel grumbled.

“Come on, we’ve got this.” The Doctor encouraged.

He stepped towards the center of the courtyard. The Mist clung to him like ice.

“Hello?” He called out, not quite expecting a response.

“Hello,” A voice answered.

The pale figure of a woman appeared at the northern gateway – no, the eastern – no, the western. Three smoky images of the same woman moved in unison towards the center of the ruins. Her form was blurred, made from the Mist, and she was trailed by two smaller wisps of smoke, darting at her heels like hounds.

She reached the center of the courtyard and her three forms merged into one. She solidified into a young woman in a dark sleeveless gown. Her golden hair was gathered into an Ancient Greek-styled high-set ponytail. She looked beautiful, but deathly pale. Her eyes were open and completely black, and when she tilted her head, she appeared to break into three different people again – misty afterimages blurring together. She looked no older than twenty, but an ancient power emanated off her. 

“Hazel Levesque.” She said. “Doctor.”

“Who are you?” Hazel asked, her fingers clutching the hilt of her sword. “I mean…which goddess?”

“Ah.” The woman nodded. “Let me give you some light.”

She raised her hands, and suddenly she was holding to reed torches, guttering with fire. The Mist receded to the edges of the courtyard. At the woman’s sandaled feet, the two wispy animals took on a solid form. One was a black Labrador retriever. The other was a long, gray, fury polecat.

The woman smiled serenely.

“I am Hecate,” She said. “Goddess of magic. We have much to discuss if you’re to live through tonight.”

On either side of the crossroads, two dark metal tourchstands erupted from the dirt. Hecate fixed her torches in them, then walked a circle around Hazel and the Doctor, examining them like some sort of exhibit.

The dog and weasel followed right behind her.

“You are like your mother, Hazel.” Hecate decided.

Hazel stared at her. “You knew her?”

“Of course. Marie was a fortune-teller. She dealt in charms and curses and  _ gris-gris. _ I am the goddess of magic.”

Hazel stared, unsure what to say.

“Many fear me,” Hecate went on. “But magic is neither good nor evil. It is a tool, like a knife. Is a knife evil? Only if the wielder is evil.”

“My – my mother…” Hazel stammered. “She didn’t believe in magic. Not really. She was just faking it, for the money.”

The weasel chittered a few rather foul profanities and bared her teeth.

The Doctor frowned at the creature. “There’s really no need to be rude.”

Hecate sighed. “Gale does not like hearing about nonbelievers,” She explained. “She herself was once a witch, you see.”

“Your weasel was a witch?” Hazel asked.

“She’s a polecat, actually,” Hecate said.

“Which is a type of weasel.” The Doctor murmured to Hazel.

“But yes – Gale was once a disagreeable human witch. She had terrible personal hygiene, plus extreme – ah digestive issues.” She waved her hand in front of her nose. “Not to mention, a horrible attitude. She gave my other followers a bad name.”

“Okay…” Hazel looked warily at the creature.

“At any rate,” Hecate went on, “I turned her into a polecat. She’s much better a polecat.”

Hazel swallowed anxiously, “And your Labrador…?”

“Oh, she’s Hecuba, the former queen of Troy,” Hecate said casually.

_ “Aren’t we on a schedule?”  _ The Labrador grunted.

“You’re right, Hecuba,” the goddess said. “We don’t have time for long introductions. The point is, Hazel Levesque, your mother may have claimed not to believe, but she had true magic. Eventually, she realized this. When she searched for a spell to summon the god Pluto,  _ I  _ helped her find it.”

“You…?”

“Yes.” Hecate continued circling the two heroes. “I saw potential in your mother. I see even  _ more  _ potential in you.”

“My – my mother suffered because of that magic.” Hazel said. “My whole life –”

“Your life wouldn’t have happened without me,” Hecate said flatly. “I have no time for your anger. Neither do you. Without my help, you and your friends will die.”

“And what  _ kind  _ of help are you offering?” The Doctor asked suspiciously.

Hecate raised her pale arms. The three gateways she’d come from – north, east, and west – began to swirl with Mist. A flurry of black and white images glowed and flickered.

In the western doorway, Roman and Greek demigods in full armor fought one another on a hillside beneath a large pine tree. Half-Blood Hill. The grass was strewn with the wounded and dying. The Doctor was standing in the midst of it, fruitlessly trying to stop the fighting.

In the gateway to the east, the  _ Argo II  _ was plunging through the sky above the Apennines. Its rigging was in flames. A boulder smashed into the quarterdeck. Another pinched through the hull. The ship burst and the engine exploded.

In the northern doorway, the Doctor could see Leo, unconscious – he hoped – falling through the clouds. Frank was staggering alone down a dark tunnel, clutching his arm, his shirt soaked in blood. The Doctor could see himself in a vast cavern filled with strands of light like a luminous web. He was fighting to break through it whilst, in the distance, Percy and Annabeth lay sprawled and unmoving at the foot of two black and silver metal doors.

“Choices,” said Hecate. “You stand at the crossroads, and I am the goddess of crossroads.”

The ground rumbled at the Doctor and Hazel’s feet. Beneath them, there was the glint of silver coins – thousands of old Roman denarii breaking the surface all around them, as though the entire hilltop was coming to a boil. 

“Hazel?” The Doctor asked.

Hazel looked up in surprise and the denarii slipped from the surface.

“The past is close to the surface in this place,” Hecate said. “In ancient times, two great Roman roads met here. News was exchanged. Markets were held. Friends met, and enemies fought. Entire armies had to choose a direction. Crossroads are always places of decision.”

“Like…like Janus.” Hazel said. “We had a shrine to him on Temple Hill back at camp. I always hated that place. People would flip a coin and hope Janus would guide them. I never understood why people are so willing to let a god take away their responsibility for choosing.”

The goddess made a disgusted hiss. “Janus and his doorways. He would have you believe that all choices are black or white, yes or no, in or out. In fact, it's not that simple. Whenever you reach the crossroads, there are always at least  _ three  _ ways to go…four, if you count going backward. You are at such a crossing now.”

“All the choices are bad.” Hazel said.

“It’s up to us to make the least bad choice.” The Doctor said.

“All choices have risks.” The goddess said. “But what is your goal?”

“Having no one die would be brilliant.”

Hecate raised her eyebrows. “Something a little more realistic, perhaps.”

“But we don’t want any of these.” Hazel looked helplessly at the doorways.

Hecuba snarled. Gale skittered around the goddess’s feet, gnashing her teeth.

“You could go backward,” Hecate suggested, “retrace your steps to Rome…but Gaea forces are expecting that. None of you will survive.”

“Have you got a better way for us?” The Doctor asked.

Hecate stepped to the nearest torch. She scooped a handful of fire and sculpted the flames until she was holding a small map of Italy.

“You could go west.” She let her finger drift away from her fiery map. “Go back to America with your prize, the Athena Parthenos. Your comrades back home, Greek and Roman, are on the brink of war. Leave now, and you might save many lives.”

“And what about Gaea?” The Doctor demanded. “We can’t allow for her to rise.”

Hecate shrugged. “It is true that Gaea has set her date of August first, the Feast of Spes, goddess of hope, for her rise to power. By waking on the Day of Hope, she intends to destroy all hope forever. Even if you reached Greece by then, how could you stop her? I do not know.” She traced her finger along the tops of the fiery Apennines. “You could go east, across the mountains, but Gaea will do anything to stop you from crossing Italy. She has raised her mountain gods against you.”

“Yeah, we noticed.” The Doctor grumbled.

“Any attempt to cross the Apennines will mean the destruction of your ship. Ironically, this might be the  _ safest  _ option for your crew. I foresee that all of you would survive the explosion. It is possible, though unlikely, you could still reach Epirus and close the Doors of Death. You might find Gaea and prevent her rise. But by then, both demigod camps would be destroyed. You would have no home to return to.” Hecate smiled. “More likely, the destruction of your ship would stran you in the mountains. It would mean the end of your quest, but it would spare you and your friends much pain and suffering in the days to come. The war with the giants would have to be won or lost without you.”

The Doctor glanced at the middle gateway to where Percy and Annabeth were sprawled helplessly before the black and silver doors. A massive dark shape, vaguely humanoid, was looming over them, its foot raised as if to crush Percy.

“Percy and Annabeth,” The Doctor said. “What about them?”

Hecate shrugged. “West, east, or south…they die.”

“There’s got to be another way.” The Doctor said.

“There is,” Hecate said. “Though it is the most dangerous.”

The goddess’s finger crossed her miniature Apennines, leaving a glowing white line in the red flames. “There is a secret pass here in the north, a place where I hold sway, where Hannibal once crossed when he marched against Rome.”

The goddess made a wide loop to the top of Italy, then east to the sea, then back down along the western coast of Greece.

“Once through the pass, you would travel north to Bologna, and then to Venice. From there, sail the Adriatic to your goal, here: Epirus in Greece.”

“That’s so far out of the way.” Hazel pointed out.

“Which is why Gaea will not expect you to take this route,” Hecate said. “I can obscure your progress somewhat, but the success of your journey will depend on you, Hazel Levesque.”

Hazel looked from Hecate to the Doctor. “Me?”

“Indeed, my dear,” Hecate said. “You must learn to use the Mist.”

Hazel stared. “How?”

The goddess extinguished her map of Italy and flicked her hand at the black dog, Hecuba. Mist collected around the Labrador until she was completely hidden in a cocoon of white. The fog cleared with an audible  _ poof! _ Where the dog had stood was a disgruntled-looking black kitten with golden eyes.

“I am the goddess of the Mist,” Hecate explained. “I am responsible for keeping the veil that separates the world of the gods from the world of mortals. My children learn to use the Mist to their advantage, to create illusions or influence the mind of mortals. Other demigods can do this as well. And so must you, Hazel, if you are to help your friends.”

“You can’t do it, can you, Doctor?” Hazel asked. “Since you’re not a demigod.”

“Indeed.” Hecate said. “While he is a…unique force upon this Earth, he does not possess the powers of a demigod.”

She glanced at him as if to look for confirmation.

“Yeah, sure something like that.” The Doctor shrugged.

Hecate scowled at him.

“Look, I don’t know if I can do this.” Hazel said.

“Your mother had the talent,” Hecate said. “You have even more. As a child of Pluto who has returned from the dead, you understand the veil between worlds better than most. You  _ can  _ control the Mist. If you do not…well, your brother Nico has already warned you. The spirits have whispered to him, told him of your future. When you reach the House of Hades, you will meet a formidable enemy. She cannot be overcome by strength or sword. You alone can defeat her, and you will require magic.”

“Who?” Hazel croaked. “Who is this enemy?”

“I will not speak her name.” Hecate said. “That would alert her to your presence before you are ready to face her. Go north, Hazel. As you travel, practice summoning the Mist. When you arrive in Bologna, seek out the two dwarfs. They will lead you to a treasure that may help you survive in the House of Hades.”

“I don’t understand.” Hazel said.

“You  _ will, _ Hazel Levesque.” The goddess promised. “From time to time, I will send Gale to check on your progress.”

The polecat hissed, her beady red eyes full of malice.

“Wonderful,” Hazel muttered.

“Before you reach Epirus, you must be prepared,” Hecate said. “If you succeed, then perhaps we will meet again…for the final battle.”

“Oh, joy.”

“Why are you helping us?” The Doctor asked. “Not that I’m complaining or anything.”

“Yeah,” Hazel added, “At Camp Jupiter, they said you sided with the Titans in the last war.”

“Uh, Hazel, she  _ is  _ a Titan.” The Doctor said. “Daughter of Perses and Asteria.”

“Long before the Olympians came to power, I ruled the Mist.” Hecate explained. “Despite this, in the First Titan War, millennia ago, I sided with Zeus against Kronos. I was not blind to Kronos’s cruelty. I hoped Zeus would prove a better king.”

She made a small, bitter laugh. “When Demeter lost her daughter, Persephone, kidnapped by  _ your  _ father, Hazel, I guided Demeter through the darkest night with my torches, helping her search. And when the giants rose the first time, I again sided with the gods. I fought my archenemy Clytius, made by Gaea to absorb and defeat all my magic.”

“Clytius.” Hazel said tediously. “Is he the threat in the House of Hades?”

“Oh, he waits for you there,” Hecate said. “But first you must defeat the witch. Unless you manage that…”

She snapped her fingers, and all the gateways went dark. The Mist dissolved, the images gone.

“We all face choices,” The goddess said. “When Kronos arose the second time, I made a mistake. I supported him. I had grown tired of being ignored by the so-called  _ major  _ gods. Despite my years of faithful service, they mistrusted me, refused me a seat in their hall…”

Gale chattered a few rather foul insults towards the gods.

“It does not matter anymore.” The goddess sighed. “I have made peace again with Olympus. Even now, when they are laid low – their Greek and Roman personas fighting each other – I will help them. Greek or Roman, I have always been only Hecate. I will assist you against the giants, if you prove yourself worthy. So now it is your choice. Will you trust me…or will you shun me, as the Olympian gods have done too often?”

Hazel looked to the Doctor for an answer. He took a breath.

“We’ll go north and take the hidden path through the mountains.” He decided.

Hecate nodded, the slightest hint of satisfaction on her face. “You have chosen well, though the path will not be easy. Many monsters will rise against you. Even some of my  _ own  _ servants have sided with Gaea, hoping to destroy your mortal world.”

The goddess took her double torches from their stands. “Prepare yourselves. If you succeed against the witch, we will meet again.”

“We’ll succeed,” Hazel said determinedly. “We’re going to find a way to stop Gaea. We’re going to rescue our friends from Tartarus. We’re going to keep the crew and the ship together,  _ and  _ we’re going to stop Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood from going to war. We’re going to do it all.”

The storm howled, the black walls of the funnel cloud swirling faster.

“Interesting,” Hecate said, “That would be magic worth seeing.”

A wave of darkness blotted out the world. When the Doctor’s vision returned, the storm, the goddess, and her minions were gone. Hazel and the Doctor stood on the hillside in the morning sunlight, alone in the ruins apart from Arion, who paced beside them.

_ “Come on, let's go.”  _ He nickered impatiently.

“Let’s get out of here.” Hazel said.

“What happened?” Leo asked as the Doctor and Hazel climbed aboard the  _ Argo II. _

The Doctor explained what had happened, Hazel pitching in. The poor girl was shaking anxiously. Over the rail, the Doctor could see Arion’s trail of dust stretching across the hills of Italy.

Once the Doctor had finished, Nico took the trembling girl’s hand. “Hazel, you met Hecate at the crossroads. That’s…that’s something many demigods don’t survive. And the ones who  _ do  _ survive are never the same. Are you sure you’re –”

“I’m fine.” Hazel insisted.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow skeptically, but she shot him a look that told him to shut up.

“What if Hecate is tricking us?” Leo asked. “This route could be a trap.”

Hazel shook her head. “If it was a trap, I think Hecate would’ve made the northern route sound tempting. Believe me, she didn’t.”

Leo pulled a calculator out of his tool belt and punched in a few numbers. “That’s…something like three hundred miles out of our way to get to Venice. Then we’d have to backtrack down the Adriatic. And you said something about baloney dwarfs?”

“Bologna,” The Doctor said. “It’s a city in northern Italy.”

“Huh,” Leo said. “I mean, I’m all about treasure, but –”

“It’s our best option.” Nico said. “We have to make up for lost time, travel as fast as we can. Percy’s and Annabeth’s lives might depend on it.”

“Fast?” Leo grinned. “I can do fast.”

He hurried to the console and began flipping switches.

Nico grabbed Hazel’s arm and guided her away to talk privately. 

Frank looked at the Doctor. “You should sleep.” He said. “You look exhausted.”

The Doctor hummed quietly. “Yeah, I’ll get to that once the world’s not ending.”

“Doctor…”

“You lot get some rest.” The Doctor insisted. “I’ll keep watch.”


	3. Nightmares and Undead News

The Doctor found Leo asleep in the engine rooms. Ever since Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus, the Doctor had been keeping an eye over Leo’s dreams.

This evening, the Doctor found himself next to Leo, running for his life through Leo’s mum’s old workshop where she’d died.

“What are we running from?” The Doctor asked.

“Uh…” Leo didn’t seem all that sure, but they kept running anyways.

Leo stumbled into the workbenches, knocked over toolboxes, and tripped on electrical cords. He clambered back to his feet and sprinted towards the exit, but a figure loomed before them – a woman in robes of dry swelling earth, her face covered in a veil of dust.

 _“Where are you going, little hero?”_ Gaea asked Leo. _“Stay, and meet my favorite son.”_

Leo pulled the Doctor left, but the Earth Goddess’s laughter followed.

 _“The night your mother died, I warned you. I said the Fates would not allow me to kill you then. But_ now _you have chosen your path. Your death is near, Leo Valdez.”_

Leo ran into a drafting table, sending both himself and the Doctor to the ground. The wall behind it was decorated with Leo’s childhood crayon drawings.

The Doctor turned around, only to find something standing in his path. Clearly this is what had been chasing them before – a colossal being, wrapped in shadows, its shapes vaguely humanoid, its head almost scraping the ceiling five meters above.

Leo’s hands burst into flame and he blasted the giant, but the darkness consumed his fire. Leo reached for his toolbelt, but his pockets were sewn shut. The Doctor pulled out the Sonic, but the button did nothing. It didn’t work. Leo went to call out, but his voice wouldn’t make a sound.

 _“My son will not allow any fires tonight,”_ Gaea said from the depths of the warehouse. _“He is the void that consumes all magic, the cold that consumes all fire, the silence that consumes all speech.”_

The Doctor had never felt so helpless in someone else’s dreams. Usually he had some level of control, but even as he attempted to pull himself from the dream, he wouldn’t budge.

 _“He consumes even your power, Time Lord.”_ Gaea’s voice said.

The Doctor scrambled to his feet, he ducked to the right, pulling Leo along as the giant’s grasping hands burst through the nearest doorway.

He shut his eyes and propelled them forwards.

The two boys were on a heap on the grass of Camp Half-Blood. But the camp itself was in ruins. The cabins were charred husks, the burned fields smoldering in the moonlight. The dining pavilion had collapsed into a pile of white rubble. The Big House was aflame, its windows glowing like eyes in the night.

The Doctor and Leo kept running, now sure that the shadow giant was close behind.

They wove around the bodies of Greeks and Romans alike. The Doctor wanted so desperately to check if they were still alive – to see if he could help them. But he knew. Somehow, he _knew._ There was no point. They were all dead.

They ran towards the only living people they could see – a group of Romans standing at the volleyball pit. Two centurions leaned casually on their javelins, chattering with a tall skinny blonde boy in a purple toga. Octavian. 

Octavian turned to face the Doctor and Leo, but he appeared to be in a sort of trance. His features were slack and his eyes were closed. When he spoke, it wasn’t his own. It was Gaea’s voice.

 _“This cannot be prevented.”_ She said. _“The Romans move east from New York. They advance on your camp, and nothing can slow them down.”_

The Doctor opened his mouth to say something, but his voice wouldn’t leave his lips. Leo grabbed his hand and pulled him away. They kept running, neither daring to look back.

They climbed Half-Blood Hill. At the summit, lightning had splintered the giant pine tree.

Leo faltered to a stop, halting the Doctor as well, just barely pulling him back from the abyss. The back of the hill was shorn away. Beyond it, the entire world was gone. There was nothing but clouds far below – a rolling silver carpet under the dark sky.

A sharp voice said, “Well?”

The Doctor could feel Leo flinch beside him.

At the shattered pine tree, a woman knelt at the cave entrance that had cracked open between the tree’s roots.

This woman wasn’t Gaea. She looked like the living Athena Parthenos, with the same golden robes and bare ivory arms. When she rose, Leo would’ve stumbled off the world had the Doctor not pulled him back.

Her face was regal and beautiful with high cheekbones, large dark eyes, and braided black hair piled in a Greek hairstyle, set with a spiral of emeralds and diamonds. Her expression radiated hatred, her lip curled, her nose wrinkled.

“A child of the tinkerer god and a mortal man,” She sneered. “You are no threat, but I suppose my vengeance must start somewhere. Make your choice.”

Leo tried to speak, but his voice was still silent.

“He’ll be here soon,” The woman warned. “My dark friend will not give you the luxury of a choice. It’s the cliff or the cave, boy!”

Leo stared at her, recognition dawning in his eyes. He stepped back towards the cliff, his eyes trained on the dark opening between the tree roots. It smelled of rot and death, the Doctor could hear bodies shuffling inside, voices whispering in the shadows.

“Yes,” The woman said. Around her neck hung a strange bronze and emerald pendant, like a circular labyrinth. Her eyes were furious, she looked to have been driven mad by anger and hatred. “The House of Hades awaits. You will be the first puny rodent to die in my maze. You have only one chance to escape. Take it.”

She gestured towards the cliff.

Leo’s grip on the Doctor’s hand tightened. 

“You’re bonkers.” He managed.

That was clearly the wrong thing to say. She seized Leo’s free wrist. “Perhaps I should kill you now, before my dark friend arrives?”

Steps shook the hillside. The giant was coming, wrapped in shadows, massive, heavy, and bent on murder.

“Have you heard of dying in a dream, boy?” The woman asked. “It is possible, at the hands of a sorceress!”

Normally, the Doctor would be confident that this woman could not kill the boys in Leo’s dream, but after everything else that had happened…he wasn’t so sure.

Leo’s arm started to smoke. The woman’s touch was acid. He tried to free himself, the Doctor trying to pull him away as well, but her grip was iron-tough.

The massive shape of the giant loomed above them, obscured by layers of black smoke.

The giant raised his fist, and a voice cut through the dream.

“Leo! Doctor!” Someone was shaking the Doctor’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

The Doctor bolted up from the floor.

Leo was waking up as well.

“Fine, fine, fine.” The Doctor breathed.

“I’m okay.” Leo agreed.

“You guys were like, thrashing around and stuff…” Jason said, sounding concerned.

“We through the mountains?” The Doctor asked.

“Yeah, we’re almost to Bologna…” Jason said warily. “I was gonna see if you wanted to join us in the mess hall since Nico has new information…”

“Yeah, on our way. Be there in a minute.” The Doctor said.

“O-okay…” Jason said, hurrying out of the room.

The Doctor and Leo exchanged a look.

“Are you really okay?” Leo asked.

“Hmm? Me? Fine. Always okay, me. I’m the king of okay!”

“More like the king of horse-crap.”

“Oi!”

“Come on, _estúpido._ ” Leo grinned.

“Rude.”

The dining hall’s walls had been designed to show real-time scenes from Camp Half-Blood. Whilst this may prove informative, it certainly didn’t help the mood.

The scenes from the camp – the campfire sing-alongs, dinners at the pavilion, volleyball games outside the Big House – just seemed to make the crew sad. The farther they got from Long Island,the worse it seemed. Whilst the Doctor tried to emotionally distance himself from the camp, he still couldn’t stop the feeling of homesickness that nestled itself in his chest.

“So,” Jason said, “Now that we’re all here…”

He was sitting at the head of the table, the Doctor at the other end. Jason looked unrested, his eyes more sunken than usually, his blonde hair messy, as though he’d forgotten to comb it. Though the Doctor wasn’t one to talk – he looked downright dreadful with dark bags under his eyes, pale skin, and his body was much thinner than usual – which was seriously saying something.

The Doctor glanced around the table. Leo looked pale and shaky, but that was likely due to the dream. Hazel was bleary-eyed, but she’d been up all night guiding the ship through the mountains. She was wearing her curly cinnamon hair tied back in a bandana. Frank was sitting next to her dressed in black trousers and a Roman tourist T-shirt that said _CIAO!_. His old centurion badge was pinned to his shirt, despite the fact that they were now enemies of Camp Jupiter.

Nico sat back in his leather aviator jacket, his black T-shirt and jeans, his silver skull ring on his finger, and his Stygian sword at his side. His tufts of black hair stuck up in curls and his eyes were sad and empty. It was…chilling, to see that look in someone else’s eyes.

The only person absent was Piper, who was taking her turn at the helm with Coach Hedge. The Doctor had tried to take over the helm the entire time, but the rest of the crew insisted he wait for his turn.

“Jason mentioned you had some new information.” The Doctor prompted Nico.

“Uh, yeah.” Nico sat forwards in his seat a little. “I communed with the dead last night. I was able to learn more about what we’ll face. In ancient times, the House of Hades was a major site for Greek pilgrims.”

The Doctor nodded. “They would come to speak with the dead and honor their ancestors, yeah?”

Leo frowned. “Sounds like Día de los Muertos. My Aunt Rosa took that stuff seriously.”

Frank grunted. “Chinese have that, too – ancestor worship, sweeping the graves in the springtime.” He glanced at Leo. “Your Aunt Rosa would’ve gotten along with my grandmother.”

“Yeah,” Leo said. “I’m sure they would’ve been best buds.”

“Most cultures have something like that,” The Doctor said, “The Buddhists have Obon, Hindus have Mahalaya Amavasya, the Voord of the Kevla system have this holiday called –”

Nico cleared his throat. “Pilgrims would go to the House of Hades year round. They could actually _speak_ to the ghosts. In Greek, the place was called the Necromanteion, the Oracle of Death. You’d work your way through different levels of tunnels, leaving offerings and drinking special potions –”

“Special potions,” Leo muttered. “Yum.”

Jason flashed him a look. “Nico, go on.”

“The pilgrims believed that each level of the temple brought you closer to the Underworld, until the dead would appear before you. If they were pleased with your offerings, they would answer your questions, maybe even tell you the future.”

Frank tapped his mug of hot chocolate. “And if the spirits _weren’t_ pleased?”

“Some pilgrims found nothing,” Nico said. “Some went insane, or died after leaving the temple. Others lost their way in the tunnels and were never seen again.”

“The point is,” Jason said quickly, “Nico found some information that might help us.”

“Yeah.” Nico didn’t sound all that enthusiastic. “The ghost I spoke to last night…He was a former priest of Hecate. He confirmed what the goddess told Hazel yesterday at the crossroads. In the first war with the giants, Hecate fought for the gods. She shew one of the giants – one who’d been designed as the _anti_ -Hecate. A guy named Clytius.”

The Doctor and Leo exchanged a look.

“Dark dude,” Leo guessed. “Wrapped in shadows.”

Hazel turned towards him, her eyes narrowing. “Leo, how did you know that?”

Leo looked towards the Doctor, then back to Hazel. “Kind of had a dream.”

Leo told them the dream, about the dark giant and the strange woman.

Jason pushed away his plate of pancakes. “So the giant is Clytius. I suppose he’ll be waiting for us, guarding the Doors of Death.”

“And the woman in Leo’s dream?” Frank asked, rolling up one of his pancakes and beginning to munch.

“I think she’s…” The Doctor glanced at Hazel. “Hecate mentioned a formidable enemy in the House of Hades – a witch who couldn’t be defeated except by…”

“Except by me.” Hazel finished. “Using magic.”

“Do you know magic?” Leo asked.

“Not yet.” Hazel admitted.

“Ah.” Leo looked down at his food. “Any idea who she is?”

“She wouldn’t tell us.” Hazel admitted. “All we know is that she won’t be easy to defeat.”

“But there _is_ some good news,” Nico said. “The ghost I talked to explained how Hecate defeated Clytius in the first war. She used her torches to set his hair on fire. He burned to death. In other words, fire is his weakness.”

All eyes turned to Leo.

“Oh,” Leo said. “Okay.”

He said it casually, but after being trapped in that dream…The Doctor was sure it wouldn’t be as easy as it sounded.

“It’s a start.” The Doctor said, glancing cautiously at Leo.

“And this sorceress…” Jason said. “Well, if Hecate believes Hazel can defeat her, then so do I.”

Hazel dropped her eyes. “Now we just have to reach the House of Hades, battle our way through Gaea’s forces –”

“Plus a bunch of ghosts,” Nico added grimly. “The spirits in that temple may not be friendly.”

“– And find the Doors of Death,” Hazel continued. “Assuming we can somehow arrive at the same time as Percy and Annabeth and rescue them.”

Frank swallowed a bite of pancake. “We can do it. We _have_ to.”

“So, with this detour,” Leo said, “I’m estimating four or five days to arrive at Epirus, assuming no delays for, you know, monster attacks and stuff.”

Jason smiled sourly. “Yeah. Those never happen.”

Leo looked at Hazel and the Doctor. “Hecate said Gaea was planning her big wake up party on August first, right? The Feast of Whatever?”

“The Feast of Spes,” The Doctor said. “She’s the goddess of hope.”

Jason turned his fork. “Theoretically, that leaves us enough time. It’s only July fifth. We should be able to close the Doors of Death, then find the giants’ HQ and stop them from waking Gaea before August first.”

“Theoretically,” Hazel agreed. “But I’d still like to know how we make our way through the House of Hades without going insane or dying.”

The Doctor glanced up. “I can just –”

“Doctor,” Hazel said, “I swear to the gods themselves, if you suggest going in alone I will throw you off this ship.”

The Doctor pouted, but shut his mouth.

Frank set down his pancake roll like suddenly it didn't taste so good. “It’s July fifth. Oh jeez, I hadn’t even thought of that…”

“Hey, man, it’s cool,” Leo said. “You’re Canadian, right? I didn’t expect you to get me an Independence Day present or anything…unless you wanted to.”

“It’s not that.” Frank said. “My grandmother…she always told me that seven was an unlucky number. It was a _ghost_ number. She didn’t like it when I told her there would be seven demigods on our quest. And July is the seventh month.”

“Yeah, but…” Leo was tapping his fingers nervously at the table. Morse code…He was saying _I love you._ The Doctor could only assume that it was what he used to tap out to his mom. Leo glanced at the Doctor, embarrassed. “But that’s just coincidence,” He went on. “Right?”

Frank’s face was grim. “Back in China,” He said. “In the old days, people called the seventh month the _ghost months._ That’s when the spirit world and the human world were closest. The living and the dead could go back and forth. Tell me it’s a coincidence we’re searching for the Doors of Death during the ghost month.”

“It’s certainly possible.” The Doctor shrugged.

Jason pressed his hands against the arms of his chair. “Let’s focus on the things we can deal with. We’re getting close to Bologna. Maybe we’ll get more answers once we find these dwarfs that Hecate –”

The ship lurched violently. Leo’s breakfast slid down the table. Nico fell backwards out of his chair and banged his head against the sideboard. He collapsed on the floor as a dozen magic goblets and platters crashed down on top of him.

“Nico!” Hazel ran to help him.

“What?” The Doctor jumped to his feet just as the ship pitched in the other direction and nearly toppled over, just catching himself on the table.

“Look!” Jason pointed at the walls. The images of Camp Half-Blood were flickering and changing.

“Not possible,” Leo murmured.

Those enchantments were not supposed to show anything apart from the scenes from camp, but suddenly a massive, distorted face filled the entire port-side wall: crooked yellow teeth, a scraggly red beard, a warty nose, and two mismatched eyes – one significantly larger than the other. The face appeared to be trying to eat its way into the room.

The other walls flickered, showing scenes from above deck. Piper stood at the helm, but something was horribly wrong. From the shoulders down she was wrapped in gaffer tape, her mouth gagged and her legs bound to the control console.

At the main mast, the Doctor could see Coach Hedge was in a similar situation, bound and gagged whilst a gnome-monkey humanoid – with horrid fashion sense-might he add – danced around him, doing the coach’s hair in tiny pigtails with pink rubber bands.

On the port-side wall, the massive face receded so that the Doctor could see the entire creature – another gnome-monkey humanoid in even madder clothes. This one began leaping around the deck, stuffing things into his burlap bag – Piper’s dagger, Leo’s Wii controllers. He then pried the Archimedes sphere out from the command console.

“No!” Leo yelled.

“Uhhh,” Nico groaned from the floor.

“Piper!” Jason cried.

“Monkey!” Frank yelled.

“I think those are the dwarfs.” The Doctor admitted.

“Stealing my stuff!” Leo yelled, and he ran for the stairs.

The Doctor grinned at the others. “Allons-y!”

He sprinted after Leo.


	4. The Kerkopes of Rome

The Doctor followed Leo as he bounded up the steps, Jason and Frank behind them.

The situation on the deck was…not particularly good.

Coach Hedge and Piper were struggling against their gaffer tape bonds whilst one of the dwarfs danced around the deck, picking up anything that wasn’t tied down and sticking it in his sack. He was just about four feet tall, shorter than Coach Hedge, with bowed legs and chimpanzee-like feet. He was wearing green plaid trousers that were pinned at the cuffs and held up with vibrant red braces over a striped pink and black blouse. He wore a half dozen golden watches on each arm and a zebra-patterned cowboy hat with the price tag still dangling from the brim. His skin was covered with patches of scraggly red fur, though most of his body hair seemed to be concentrated on his massive bushy eyebrows.

Just as the Doctor heard the  _ click _ behind him, he realized he’d just wandered directly into a trap.

“Get down!” The Doctor shouted, pulling Leo to the ground just as an explosion rocked the deck.

A flash-bang granede. Not the worst that could’ve happened. Despite the Doctor’s  _ extremely  _ vocal protests, Leo had been experimenting with all sorts of weapons based on the Archimedes sphere. Grenades that sprayed acid, fire, shrapnel…It could have been much worse.

The Doctor tried to get up, but his ears were ringing and he felt disoriented.

Oh. That explained it. This must have been one of the flash-bang grenades Leo had filled with a rare vial of Apollo’s music, pure liquid extract. It didn’t kill – the only reason the Doctor knew about it was because Leo had bragged that to him – but it did leave him feeling wonky.

He managed to flip over, his vision slowly fading back into focus. A grinning face loomed over him. The brown-furred dwarf was dressed in a green bowler hat, dangly diamond earrings, and a white and black referee’s shirt. He showed off Leo’s toolbelt and the Doctor’s Sonic, then danced away.

The Doctor reached out, but his movements were slow and his fingers were numb. The dwarf frolicked over to the nearest ballista, which his read-furred friend was priming to launch.

The brown-furred dwarf jumped onto the projectile and shot into the sky.

The Doctor made it to just feet just as the red-furred dwarf pranced over to Coach Hedge and gave the satyr a massive smack on the cheek, then skipped to the rial. He bowed to Leo, doffing his zebra cowboy hat, and did a backflip over the side.

The Doctor ran to Piper and carefully pulled the gag out of her mouth.

“Jason!” She cried.

The Doctor turned around. Jason was finally on his feet, Leo stumbling up as well. Frank had turned into a silverback gorilla, but the flash-bang grenade had hit him hard. He was sprawled on the deck with his tongue hanging out, eyes rolled up in his head.

“Don’t waste your time on me!” She insisted. “Go after  _ them!” _

At the mast, Coach Hedge mumbled, “HHHmmmmmhmmm!”

Which the Doctor assumed likely meant:  _ ‘KILL THEM!’ _

The Doctor glanced down. Below them spread the city of Bologna – a puzzle of red-tiled buildings in a valley hemmed by green hills.

He glanced over to Jason. “You feel up to controlling the winds?”

Jason frowned. “Sure, but –”

“Awesome.” Leo grinned, joining the two boys. “We’ve got some monkey-dudes to catch.”

The Doctor, Jason, and Leo touched down in a big piazza lined with white marble government buildings and outdoor cafés. Bikes and Vespas clogged the surrounding streets, but the square itself was empty apart from pigeons and a few old men drinking espresso.

None of the locals appeared to notice the massive Greek warship hovering over the piazza, or the fact that the three boys had just flown down, Jason wielding his golden sword.

“Put it away.” The Doctor grumbled.

Jason rolled his eyes, but reluctantly obliged.

“Where to?” He asked.

“I would use the Sonic to see if I could track them, but…”

“Right.” Jason sighed. He glanced up at the ship as if to get his bearings, then pointed across the piazza. “The ballista fired the first dwarf in  _ that  _ direction, I think.”

The Doctor shrugged. “Allons-y.”

They waded through a lake of pigeons, then maneuvered down a side street of clothing shops. The sidewalk was lined with white columns covered in graffiti. A few panhandlers requested money, but none of them had anything.

“Check it out.” Jason suddenly said.

The Doctor glanced over to see that looming over them was a massive bronze statue of a nude Neptune.

“Ah, jeez!” Leo said, averting his eyes.

The sea god stood on a large marble column in the middle of a fountain that wasn’t working – which was somewhat ironic. On either side of Neptune, small winged Cupids were sitting. He was gripping a trident loosely in his right hand and stretched his left out lie he was blessing someone.

“Some kind of clue?” Leo wondered aloud.

The Doctor frowned. “Could be.”

“There are statues of gods all over the place in Italy,” Jason said. “I’d just feel better if we ran across Jupiter. Or Minerva. Anybody but Neptune, really.”

Leo climbed into the dry fountain and placed his hand on the statue’s pedestal.

“It’s mechanical,” He murmured.

“Could be an automaton.” The Doctor suggested.

“Or a doorway to the dwarfs’ secret layer.” Leo grinned.

“Ooooo!” Shrieked a nearby voice. “Secret lair?”

“I want a secret lair!” Yelled another voice from above.

The Doctor spun around. The red-furred dwarf was sitting about ten meters away at the nearest café table, sipping an espresso with his foot. The brown-furred dwarf was perched on the marble pedestal at Neptune’s feet, just above Leo’s head.

“If we had a secret lair,” said the red-furred dwarf, “I would want a firehouse pole.”

“And a waterslide!” Said the brown-furred dwarf, who was pulling random tools out of Leo’s belt, tossing aside wrenches, hammers, and staple guns.

“Stop that!” Leo tried to grab the dwarf’s feet, but he couldn’t quite reach the top of the pedestal.

“Too short?” The brown-furred dwarf sympathized.

“You’re calling  _ me _ short?” Leo cried. “Give me my belt, you stupid –”

“Now, now!” The dwarf said, “We haven’t even introduced ourselves. I’m Akmon. And my brother over there –”

“– is the handsome one!” The red-furred dwarf lifted his espresso. “Passalos! Singer of songs! Drinker of coffee! Stealer of shiny stuff!”

“Please!” Shrieked Akmon. “I steal  _ much  _ better than you.”

Passalos snorted. “Stealing naps, maybe!” He took out a knife – Piper’s knife – and began picking his teeth with it.

“Hey!” Jason yelled. “That’s my girlfriend’s knife!”

He lunged at Passalos, but the red-furred dwarf was much too quick. He sprang from his chair, bounced off Jason’s head, did a flip, and landed next to Leo, his hairy arms wrapping around Leo’s waist.

“Save me?” The dwarf pleaded.

“Get off!” Leo cried, trying to shove him away, but Passalos did a backwards somersault and landed just out of reach. Leo’s trousers promptly fell around his knees.

Passalos was now grinning and holding a small zigzagged strip of metal. Somehow, the dwarf had stolen the zipper right off Leo’s trousers.

“What if we can negotiate?” The Doctor asked.

“Give me back my zipper!” Leo shouted, trying to both shake his fist and hoist up his trousers at the same time.

“Eh, not shiny enough.” Passalos said, ignoring the Doctor and tossing the zipper away.

Jason lunged with his sword. Passalos launched himself directly up and was suddenly sitting on the statue’s pedestal beside his brother.

“Tell me I don’t have moves,” Passalos boasted.

“Okay,” Akmon said. “You don’t have moves.”

“Bah!” Passalos said. “Give me the toolbelt. I want to see.”

“No!” Akmon elbowed him away. “You got the knife and the shiny ball.”

“Yes, the shiny ball is nice.” Passalos took off his cowboy hat. With a flurry of fingers, he pulled out the Archimedes sphere from the hat and began tinkering with the ancient bronze dials.”

“Stop!” Leo yelled. “That’s a delicate machine!”

“Who  _ are  _ you two, anyway?” Jason demanded.

“The Kerkopes!” Akmon narrowed his eyes at Jason. “I bet you’re a son of Jupiter, eh? I can always tell.”

“Just like Black Bottom,” Passalos agreed.

“Black Bottom?” The Doctor frowned.

“Yes, you know.” Akmon grinned. “Heracles. We called him Black Bottom because he used to go around without clothes. He got so tan that his backside, well –”

“Lovely.” The Doctor grumbled.

“At least he had a sense of humor!” Passalos said. “He was going to kill us when we stole from him, but he let us go because he liked our jokes. Not like you all. Grumpy, grumpy!”

“Hey, I’ve got a sense of humor,” Leo snarled. “Give me back our stuff, and I’ll tell you a joke with a good punch line.”

“Nice try!” Akmon pulled a ratchet wrench from the toolbelt and spun it around like a noisemaker. “Oh, very nice! I’m definitely keeping this! Thanks, Blue Bottom!”

Leo frowned down at his blue pants. “That’s it!” He shouted. “My stuff. Now. And the Doctor’s too. Or I’ll show you how funny a flaming dwarf is.”

His hands caught fire.

“Now we’re talking.” Jason thrust his sword into the sky. Dark clouds began to gather over the piazza. Thunder boomed.

The Doctor gave the two boys a look. “Seriously?”

“Sorry, Doc.” Leo said, “But I’m getting my stuff back.”

“Oh, scary!” Akmon shrieked.

“Yes,” Passalos agreed. “If only we had a secret lair to hide in.”

“Alas, this statue isn’t the doorway to a secret lair,” Akmon said. “It has a different purpose.”

Realization dawned on the Doctor. “It’s a trap.”

He dove out of the way, pulling Leo as he went, just as five golden cords shot out from Neptune statue’s fingers. One barely missed their feet, the others homed in on Jason, wrapping him up and yanking him upside down.

A bolt of lightning blasted the tines of Neptune’s trident, sending arcs of electricity up and down the statue, but the Kerkopes had already disappeared.

“Bravo!” Akmon applauded from a nearby café table. “You make a wonderful piñata, son of Jupiter!”

“Yes!” Passalos agreed. “Heracles hung us upside down once, you know. Oh, revenge is sweet!”

Leo summoned a fireball and lobbed it at Passalos, who was trying to juggle two pigeons and the Archimedes sphere.

“Eek!” The dwarf jumped free of the explosion, dropping the sphere and letting the pigeons fly.

“Time to leave!” Akmon decided.

He tipped his bowler and sprang away, jumping from table to table. Passalos glanced at the Archimedes sphere, which had rolled between the Doctor’s feet.

Leo summoned another fireball. “Try me,” He snarled.

“Bye!” Passalos did a backflip and ran after his brother.

The Doctor scooped up the sphere and tossed it to Leo before running over to Jason, who was still hanging upside down, tied very securely apart from his sword arm. He was trying to cut the cords with his golden blade but had no luck.

“Right, I’m sure I can find a release switch –”

“Just go!” Jason growled. “I’ll follow you when I get out of this.”

“But –” Leo had joined them now.

“Don’t lose them!”

Reluctantly, the Doctor and Leo left Jason hanging and sprinted after the Kerkopes.

The dwarfs didn’t try all that hard to lose the pursuing boys. They stayed just at the edge of the boys’ vision, scampering over red-tiled rooftops, knocking over window boxes, whooping and hollering and leaving a trail of screws and nails from Leo’s toolbelt.

“They  _ want  _ us to follow them.” The Doctor huffed out as they chased after the dwarfs.

“Think they’re leading us into another trap?” Leo asked.

“Most likely.”

They turned a corner only to see two ancient stone towers jutting into the sky, side by side, much taller than the rest of the neighborhood.

The Kerkopes scaled the tower on the right. When they reached the top, they climbed around the back side and disappeared.

“Did they go inside?” Leo questioned, trying to both catch his breath and pull up his trousers.

“Looks like it.” The Doctor murmured. He could see some tiny windows at the top, covered with metal grates, though he doubted those would stop the dwarfs.

The Doctor made his way towards the tower and found the entrance. He started up the winding stairs inside, only to be stopped at a ticket booth by a caretaker.

“Hey! You need to pay!”

“No, no,” The Doctor pulled out the psychic paper that he was  _ very  _ grateful the dwarfs hadn’t taken. “See, health and safety. Me and my mate’ve got to get through.”

The man looked at the Doctor, then to Leo, who was still trying to keep his trousers up.

Reluctantly, he let the boys through, muttering something quite rude about foreigners.

“I freaking love that thing.” Leo grinned as they hurried up the tower. 

The Doctor grinned back. “Tell me about it.”

The stairs went on and on. They finally stopped on a landing. Leo slumped against a narrow barred window, trying to catch his breath. The Doctor did the same, instead electing to sit on one of the steps.

“I’m gonna kill them.” Leo breathed out. “I'm going to freaking kill them.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes and got back to his feet.

Leo groaned but followed suit.

They kept climbing.

Finally, they reached the top.

“Could’ve been worse,” The Doctor said, “I once had –”

“No offence, Doctor, but I really don’t care.” Leo gasped for breath.

The room at the top was about the size of a broom closet, with barred windows on all four walls. Shoved in the corners were sacks of treasure that were spilling onto the floor. The Doctor could see Piper’s knife, an old leather-bound book, a few mechanical devices, and enough gold to make Arion sick.

Hanging upside down from the ceiling, Akmon and Passalos were perched, clinging to the rafters by their feet, playing upside-down poker. When they saw the Doctor and Leo, they threw their cards like confetti and broke out in applause.

“I told you they’d do it!” Akmon shrieked in delight.

Passalos shrugged and removed one of his golden watches and handed it to his brother. “You win. I didn’t think they were that dumb.”

They both dropped to the floor. Passalos had the Doctor’s Sonic sticking out of his back pocket. Akmon was wearing Leo’s toolbelt, the Doctor could see Leo’s eyes locked onto it.

Passalos straightened his cowboy hat and kicked open the grate on the nearest window. “What should we make them climb next, brother? The dome of San Luca?”

“Oh! I’ve already climbed that one!” The Doctor grinned.

“Of course, you have.” Leo sighed.

“But before you go,” The Doctor said casually, “You’ve forgotten something. Something  _ shiny. _ ”

“Impossible!” Akmon scowled. “We were very thorough.”

“Clearly not.” The Doctor shrugged.

“Where is it?” Akmon demanded.

“You’ve got to get close to see it.” The Doctor said. “Unless, of course, you don’t mind me keeping it.”

“No, no! I’ll look.” Passalos said.

He came towards the Doctor. Just as he got close, the Doctor launched himself forth, snatching the Sonic from his pocket, raising it in the air.

It let out a high-pitched noise. The Kerkopes clutched their ears and cried out.

Leo, who’d been anticipating the move since the moment the Doctor had lunged forwards, snatched the toolbelt off of Akmon and summoned some bungee cords, quickly tying up the dwarfs.

Making sure they were securely bound, Leo dragged the dwarfs into one corner and began rifling through their treasures.

“Please!” Akmon wailed as Leo took back dozens of odds and ends the dwarfs had taken from the  _ Argo II _ . “Don’t take our shinies!”

“We’ll make a deal!” Passalos suggested. “We’ll cut you in for ten percent if you let us go!”

“Nope.” The Doctor shrugged.

“Twenty percent!”

Just then, thunder boomed overhead. Lightning flashed, and the bars on the nearest window burst into sizzling, melted stubbs of iron.

Jason flew in, electricity sparking around him and his golden swords steaming.

Leo whistled appreciatively. “Man, you just wasted an  _ awesome  _ entrance.”

Jason frowned. He then noticed the tied-up Kerkopes. “What the –”

“All by myself.” The son of Hephaestus grinned.

The Doctor snorted and Leo elbowed him painfully in the ribs. “Shut up.”

“You wish.”

“How’d you find us, anyway?” Leo asked.

“Uh, I don’t think I’ve ever heard something torture my ears as much as the Sonic does.”

“Oi! Don’t diss the Sonic!”

“It’s not a bad thing, Doctor.” Jason insisted. “I mean, we’d all be dead without that thing.”

“Yes, you would be.” The Doctor gave Leo a look of satisfaction.

Leo sighed and tossed Jason Piper’s dagger, then continued to rummage through the dwarfs’ bag of ‘shinies.’

“You mentioned something about finding a treasure to help with the quest?” Leo asked the Doctor.

The Doctor hummed and nodded. “Hecate said the dwarfs would ‘lead us to a treasure that may help us survive in the House of Hades.’”

Finally, Leo picked up an old bronze navigation device. It was badly damaged and looked to be missing some pieces, but it was properly fascinating.

“Take it!” Passalos offered. “Odysseus made it, you know! Take it and let us go.”

“Odysseus?” Jason asked. “Like,  _ the _ Odysseus?”

“Yes!” Passalos squeaked. “Made it when he was an old man in Ithaca. One of his last inventions, and we stole it!”

“How’s it work, then?” The Doctor frowned. “It looks broken.”

“It is,” Akmon said. “Something about a missing crystal?”

He looked to his brother for help.

“‘My biggest what-if,’” Passalos recited. “‘Should’ve taken a crystal.’ That’s what he kept muttering in his sleep, the night we stole it.” He shrugged. “No idea what he meant. But the shiny is yours! Can we go now?”

The Doctor and Leo exchanged a glance.

Leo slid the invention into one of his toolbelt’s magic pockets.

The Doctor knelt down and picked up the leather-bound book. “What’s this, then?”

“Nothing!” Akmon said quickly. “Just a book. It had a pretty gold cover, so we took it from him.”

“Him?” Leo prompted.

Akmon and Passalos exchanged a nervous look.

“Minor god,” Passalos said. “In Venice. Really, it’s nothing.”

“Venice.” Jason frowned, looking towards Leo and the Doctor. “Isn’t that where we’re supposed to go next?”

“Where exactly can we find this minor god?” The Doctor inquired.

“No!” Akmon shrieked. “You can’t take it back to him! If he finds out we stole it –”

“We won’t tell him,” The Doctor promised.

Jason glanced at him as though unsure if he would cooperate with the Doctor’s promise.

“Okay, okay.” The dwarf said, “La Casa Nera. Calle Frezzeria.”

“Is that an address?” Leo asked.

The dwarfs nodded.

“Brilliant.” The Doctor grinned. “Can you tell us what god?”

“I – I can’t say.” Passalos whimpered.

“You’d better.” Leo warned.

“Oi!” The Doctor grumbled. “At least  _ try  _ to play nice.”

“I mean,” Passalos said miserably, “I  _ really  _ can’t say. I can’t pronounce it. Tr – tri – It’s too hard!”

“Truh,” Akmon said. “Tru-toh–Too many syllables!”

They both burst into tears.

“We can’t seriously let them go.” Jason said. “We could send them to Tartarus?”

“Please, no!” Akmon wailed. “It might take us weeks to come back.”

“Assuming Gaea even lets us!” Passalos sniffled. “She controls the Doors of Death now. She’ll be very cross with us.”

“Nothing can slow them down,” Leo suddenly said. “I wonder…”

“What?” The Doctor asked.

Leo looked at the dwarfs. “I’ll make you a deal.”

Akmon’s eyes lit up. “Thirty percent?”

“We’ll leave you all the treasure,” He said, “Except the stuff that belongs to us, and the astrolabe, and this book, which we’ll take back to the dude in Venice.”

“He’ll destroy us!” Passalos wailed.

“We won’t say where we got it.” Leo insisted, agreeing to the Doctor’s promise. “And we won’t kill you. We’ll let you go free.”

“Uh, Leo…?” Jason asked nervously.

Akmon squealed with delight. “I knew you were as smart as Heracles! I will call you Black Bottom, the Sequel!”

“Yeah, no thanks,” Leo said. “But in return for us sparing your lives, you have to do something for us. I’m going to send you somewhere to steal from some people, harass them, make life hard for them any way you can. You have to follow my directions exactly. You have to swear on the River Styx.”

“We swear!” Passalos said. “Stealing from people is our specialty!”

“I love harassment!” Akmon agreed. “Where are we going?”

Leo grinned. “Ever heard of New York?”

The Doctor stared at the genius boy. He was going to find a way to at least slow the Romans down. “Leo Valdez, you’re a star.”

“I know.” Leo smirked.


	5. The Doctor Continues to Have Bad Luck With Cows

“What  _ are  _ they?” Hazel asked.

The  _ Argo II  _ was docked at a busy warf. On one side stretched a shopping channel about a half kilometer wide. On the other spread the city of Venice – red-tiled roofs, metal church domes, steepled towers, and sun-bleached buildings in red, white, ochre, pink, and oranges.

Everywhere there were statues of lions – atop pedestals, over doorways, on the porticoes of the largest buildings.

Where streets usually would be, green canals etched their way through the neighborhoods, each one jammed with motorboats. Along the docks, the sidewalks were mobbed with tourists shopping at the kiosks, overflowing the shops, and ounging across outdoor café tables.

The crew of the  _ Argo II  _ were gathered at the starboard rail to stare at the dozens of shaggy creatures milling about the crowds. Each creature was about the size of an Earth cow, with a bowed back, matted gray fur, skinny legs, and black cloven hooves. Their heads appeared much too heavy for their necks – their long anteater-like snouts drooped to the ground. Their overgrown gray manes completely covered their eyes.

The Doctor observed as one of the creatures lumbered across the promenade, snuffling and licking the pavement with its long tongue. The tourists parted around it, unconcerned. A few even petted it. Then, the creature’s appearance flickered.

Jason grunted. “The mortals think they’re stray dogs.”

“Or pets roaming around,” Piper said. “My dad shot a film in Venice once. I remember him telling me there were dogs everywhere. Venetians love dogs.”

Frank frowned. “But what are they? They look like…starving, shaggy cows with sheepdog hair.”

“Maybe they’re harmless,” Leo suggested. “They’re ignoring the mortals.”

“Harmless!” Coach Hedge laughed. The satyr’s expression was gruff as ever, but he still had one pink rubber band stuck in his hair from the dwarfs. “Valdez, how many  _ harmless  _ monsters have we met? We should just aim the ballistae and see what happens!”

“No, we’re not doing that.” The Doctor said firmly.

“We’ll just have to walk through them and hope they’re peaceful,” Frank said. “It’s the only way we’re going to track down the owner of that book.”

_ “La Casa Nera,”  _ The Doctor recited.  _ “Calle Frezzeria.” _

“The Black House,” Nico translated. “Calle Frezzeria is the street.”

The Doctor frowned. “When’d you learn Italian?”

Nico shrugged. “Frank is right. We have to find that address. The only way to do it is to walk the city. Venice is a maze. We’ll have to risk the crowds and those…whatever they are.”

Thunder rumbled in the clear summer sky. They’d passed through some storms the night before and the air was still thick and humid.

Jason frowned at the horizon. “Maybe I should stay on board. Lots of venti in that storm last night. If they decide to attack the ship again…”

He didn’t need to finish.

Coach Hedge grunted. “Well, I’m out, too. If you soft-hearted cupcakes are going to stroll through Venice without even whacking those furry animals on the head, forget it. I don’t like  _ boring  _ expeditions.”

“Well…” Piper shifted her feet. “Whoever goes should be good with animals. I, uh…I’ll admit I’m not great with cows.”

“I’ll go.” The Doctor suggested. “I’m the only one who can talk to them. Unlike you silly apes –”

“I’ll go with him.” Nico cut him off.

“Brilliant!” The Doctor grinned.

“I didn’t know you were good with animals.” Piper said.

Nico smiled humorlessly. “Actually, most animals hate me. They can sense death. But there’s something about this city…” His expression turned grim. “Lots of death. Restless spirits. If I go, I may be able to keep them at bay. Besides, as was noticed, I speak Italian.”

“So do I.” The Doctor pointed out.

“You don’t count.”

“Oi!”

“I’ll go too.” Hazel said, looking nervously at her brother. “Three is the best number for a demigod quest, right?”

“I’m not a demigod.” The Doctor pointed out.

“I can come.” Frank suggested.

Hazel smiled sweetly, wrapping her arms around his. “Right them, that makes three demigods. Now let’s go. We’ve got to find whoever owns this book.”

Between the rows of old houses and the canals, the creatures milled around with the mortals on the pavement. One seemed to find something it liked at the edge of a canal. It nibbled and licked at a crack between stones until it dislodged a sort of greenish root. The monster sucked it up happily and shambled along.

“Well, they’re plant-eaters,” Frank said. “That’s good news.”

“Unless they supplement their diet with demigods.” Hazel pointed out. “Let’s hope not.”

Nico suddenly stopped. “There.”

They’d turned onto a smaller street, leaving the canal behind. Ahead of them was a small plaza lined with five-story buildings. The area was oddly deserted and in the middle of the cobblestone courtyard, a dozen shaggy creatures were sniffing around the mossy base of an old stone well.

“A lot of cows in one place,” Frank observed.

“Look,” Nico pointed, “Just past that archway.”

“Brilliant job, Nico.” The Doctor praised the boy. At the far end of the plaza, a stone archway carved with lions led into a narrow street. Just past the arch, one of the houses were painted black – in fact, it was the only black house the Doctor had seen so far in Venice.

“I don’t like that plaza.” Hazel murmured. “It feels…cold.”

The Doctor admittedly couldn’t feel anything out of the ordinary, and a look from Frank told him that he didn’t either, but Nico nodded. “You’re right, Hazel. This neighborhood is filled with  _ lemures. _ ”

“Lemurs?” Frank asked nervously. “I’m guessing you don’t mean the furry little guys from Madagascar?”

“Angry ghosts.” Nico explained.

“Oh.”

“Well, they tend to hang around Italian cities, don’t they?” The Doctor asked.

“Yeah, they do,” Nico said, “But I’ve never felt so many in one place. My mom told me…” He hesitated. “She used to tell me stories about the ghosts of Venice.”

“You’re mum,” The Doctor said gently, “She was from Venice, wasn’t she?”

Nico nodded reluctantly. “She met Hades here, back in the 1930s. As World War Two got closer, she fled to the U.S. with Bianca and me. I don’t remember much about Italy but I can still speak the language. Obviously.”

The Doctor nodded. “Nico I –”

“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry.” Nico growled.

The Doctor hesitated. He wasn’t sure how much further he should pursue this.

“So…How should we avoid the lemures?” Frank asked.

“I’m already on it,” Nico said. “I’m sending out the message that they should stay away and ignore us. Hopefully that’s enough. Otherwise…things could get messy.”

Hazel pursed her lips. “Let’s get going.”

Halfway across the piazza, everything went wrong. Because of course it did. But it had nothing to do with ghosts.

They were skirting the well in the middle of the square, trying to give the cow-like creatures some distance, when Hazel stumbled on a loose piece of cobblestone. The Doctor managed to catch her so she didn’t tumble to the ground, but six or seven of the creatures turned to look at them.

Underneath one creature’s mane, the Doctor could see a glowing green eye.

Immediately, he was hit with a wave of nausea…That was not good.

He placed himself between the creatures and the demigods.

“I’m such a klutz,” Hazel whispered. “Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Nico said. “Look at your feet.”

The Doctor glanced down. Beneath their shoes, the paving stones were moving – spiked plant tendrils were pushing up from the cracks.

Nico stepped back. The roots snaked out in his direction, trying to follow. The tendrils go thicker, exuding a steamy green vapour that smelled of boiled cabbage.

“These roots seem to really like us,” Frank noted.

“And the cow creatures like the roots.” Hazel agreed, her hand drifting towards her sword hilt.  
The entire herd was now looking in their direction, making foghorn-like growls and stamping their hooves.

_ “You are on our food.”  _ One said.  _ “We will kill you.” _

“Uh, we didn’t mean to,” The Doctor said, “How about we leave, and you let us?”

_ “NO. YOU MUST DIE.” _

“Run!”

The Doctor, Nico, and Hazel bolted for the side street whilst Frank made the executive decision to be the distraction. Had he not had the ability to turn into massive animals, the Doctor would’ve taken his place.

Yet even with Frank as the distraction, three of the creatures peeled off from the herd to chase Nico, Hazel and the Doctor.

The Doctor tried to use the Sonic to buy them some time, but the creatures seemed to be unaffected by it.

“That’s not good.” The Doctor murmured.

“You think?” Hazel shot back.

Nico managed to slash one of the creatures with his sword, but the other charged at Hazel.

“HAZEL!”

The Doctor knocked the girl onto the ground as he received a face-full of green gas.

Hazel managed to push herself off the ground and impale the creature, sending it crumbling to dust.

The Doctor clutched his eyes and dropped to the ground.

His eyes were burning much too badly to open. Despite the fact that his eyes were closed and he was kneeling on the ground, the Time Lord was incredibly ill, disoriented, and dizzy.

He barely registered the fact that he was on the ground, arms around him.

_ “Doctor?” _ A voice – Hazel’s? – was calling.

His arm reached out blindly, only to catch another hand.

“Doctor?” The voice was a little closer now.

He opened his mouth, but words caught in his throat and he was wracked with a vicious coughing fit.

“Don’t – don’t you have some sort of respiratory bypass?” Nico asked somewhere to his left. He sounded genuinely concerned.

“Yeah,” The Doctor choked out. “Usually works. Don’t know –” He found himself out of breath. “Don’t know why it’s not working. The gas…”

“Doctor!” Frank’s voice sounded somewhere past Nico along with some footsteps that got closer and closer.

“‘Ello.” The Doctor murmured, looking blindly towards Frank’s direction.

“We need to get him back to the ship.” Frank said.

“Nah, I’m good. Just need –” The Doctor began to cough again. By the time the fit was done, he was on his hands and knees, his limbs trembling with the effort of it.

“Yeah, you're  _ amazing. _ ” Frank grumbled.

“What is it?” Hazel pressed. “What do you need?”

“Time,” The Doctor insisted. “My body will expel the toxin…probably.”

_ “Probably?”  _ Hazel cried.

“We’ll never make it on foot,” Nico said. “Frank, turn into a giant eagle. Don’t worry about me. Get him back to the  _ Argo II. _ ”

“Your friends can’t help you.” An unfamiliar voice behind them said. “They don’t know the cure.”

The Doctor had no clue who this was, but at the moment, no one seemed to care all that much.

“Can you cure him?” Hazel asked.

“Of course,” The voice said. “But you’d better hurry inside. I think you’ve angered every katobleps in Venice.”


	6. Illnesses and Magic Plants

They barely made it inside.

As soon as the Doctor heard their host bolt the door, he could hear the creatures bellow and slam into the door, making it shudder on its hinges.

“Oh, they can’t get in,” The man’s voice promised. “You’re safe now!”

“Safe?” Frank sounded doubtful. “I’m pretty sure the Doctor is dying.”

“Am not!” The Doctor began coughing violently again.

The Doctor could pretty much  _ feel  _ Hazel’s look of exasperation.

“Yes, yes.” The voice sighed. “Bring him this way.”

Hazel and Frank – he assumed from the feel of his arms – assisted the Doctor in standing up and stumbling towards their host.

“Honestly, I’m surprised he’s still awake,” The host said.

“Superior physiology.” The Doctor boasted. “Unlike you silly apes, my species are –” He began to cough again.

“Wow. You are  _ so  _ superior.” Hazel rolled her eyes – Well, the Doctor couldn’t see it, but he could only assume she did.

The host walked a few strides away, then said, “Set your friend here.”

The Doctor was assisted onto a sort of bed.

“Doctor…Are you supposed to look green?” Hazel asked nervously.

“No…?” The Doctor frowned.

“You’ve just got this kinda greenish tint –”

“That’ll be the poison.” The host explained.

“What  _ were  _ those cow things?” Frank asked. “What did they do to him?”

“Katoblepones,” the host said, “Singular: katobleps. In English, it means –”

“Down-looker,” The Doctor murmured, amused. “Cause they’re always looking down.”

There was the sound of a hand smacking a forehead and Nico groaned. “I remember reading about them.”

_ “Now  _ you remember?” Frank’s irritated voice asked.

“I, uh…used to play this stupid card game when I was younger.” Nico explained, sounding embarrassed. “Mythomagic. The katobleps was one of the monster cards.”

“I played Mythomagic.” Frank said blankly, “I never saw that card.”

“It was from the  _ Africanus Extreme  _ expansion deck.”

“Oh.”

The host cleared his throat. “Are you two done, ah,  _ geeking out _ , as they say?”

“That means you’re being incredibly enthusiastic.” The Doctor said proudly.

“Uh…Where’d you hear that definition?” Frank asked.

The Doctor frowned. “My mate, Martha. Her sister called me a science geek.”

Frank let out a snort of laughter and he could almost feel Hazel’s grin.

“What?”

“Anyway,” Nico went on, though he too sounded amused, “Katoblepones have poison breath and a poison gaze. I thought they only lived in Africa.”

“That’s their native land.” The host said, “They were accidentally imported to Venice hundreds of years ago. You’ve heard of Saint Mark?”

“He’s the patron Saint of the city, isn’t he?” The Doctor asked. “Died in Egypt a while ago –” He began to cough again. He could feel something metallic and wet in his mouth. He didn’t need sight to know that this was bad. He shut his mouth. The last thing he needed was for the others to worry more.

“More like a thousand year ago.” The host said. “When the Venetians became powerful…well, the relics of saints were a big tourist attraction back in the Middle Ages. The Venetians decided to steal Saint Mark’s remains and bring them to their big church of San Marco. They smuggled out his body in a barrel of pickled pig parts.”

“That’s…disgusting,” Frank said.

“Yes,” The host agreed with a smile. “The point is, you can’t do something like that and not have consequences. The Venetians unintentionally smuggled someone  _ else  _ out of Egypt – the katoblepones. They came here aboard that ship and have been breeding like rats ever since. They love the magical poison roots that grow here – swampy, foul-smelling plants that creep up from the canals. It makes their breath even more poisonous! Usually the monsters ignore mortals, but demigods…especially demigods who get in their way –”

“I’m not a demigod, though.” The Doctor pointed out.

“But you were in their way.” The host said.

“So, do you think you can cure him?” Hazel asked.

“Possibly.”

_ “Possibly?” _

The Doctor had begun coughing. The noise in the background was fading out.

“Doctor, are you all right?” Hazel called.

“Yeah, I –” The Doctor froze for a moment. “No.” He finally said, before his unseeing-eyes rolled into the back of his head and he dropped like a stone.

The Doctor woke again shivering violently, drenched in sweat. He could see – kind of. Everything was blurred and spinning violently, but he could see. Just above him, Nico was looking down at the Time Lord, running a damp cloth down his forehead.

“What're ya doin’ with that?” The Doctor slurred slightly.

“You – you had a fever,” Nico said, sounding somewhat flustered. “I – I thought –”

“A fever?” The Doctor frowned. “Tha’s not good. A human one?”

“Uh, is there an alien one?” Nico asked.

“How high d’you think?”

“I’m not super sure,” Nico admitted. “You’re not that bad, if I had to guess I’d say a hundred-ish?”

“Fahrenheit?”

Nico laughed softly. “Yes. Fahrenheit.”

“Tha’s not good.” The Doctor mumbled. “‘s very not good.”

“What do you mean?” Nico asked, suddenly not sounding nearly as calm as before.

“‘M alien, remember?”

“How could I forget?”

“I usually ‘m ‘bout fifteen degrees celsius – fifty nine fahrenheit…I – I think. Brain’s kinda…foggy.”

Nico cursed. “You’re nearly double that!”

“I didn’ notice.” The Doctor said sarcastically.

“What do I do?” Nico was sounding properly panicked now.

“Where’re the others?” The Doctor murmured, trying to push himself up to look around.

The house’s front room was a sort of greenhouse. The walls were lined with tables of plant trays under fluorescent lights. The back room looked to be a combination garage, flat, and computer lab. Against the left wall glowed a bank of servers and laptops, their screensavers flashing pictures of plowed fields and tractors. Against the right wall sat a single bed, a messy deck, and an open wardrobe filled with denim clothes and a stack of farm implements such as pitchforks and rakes.

Nico pushed him gently back down – he’d never experienced Nico being this gentle with, well, with anything.

“Hazel’s – That’s Hazel, there.” Nico pointed towards a plant on the floor. It was a potted plant about five feet tall with drooping green leaves, tufts of silk, and half a dozen ripe yellow ears of corn.

“What –” The Doctor began coughing again, even more harshly than before. By the time he’d finished, he had almost no energy left.

“Maybe you should stop talking.” Nico murmured. “Triptolemus – he’s the god here – doesn’t like children of the Underworld.”

The Doctor frowned.

“I may have told him. I was a child of Apollo.” Nico admitted.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

“It was the first name that came to mind!” Nico said defensively. “And no, Apollo didn’t strike me down or anything, but I’m sure I’ll have to deal with this later.”

“Prob’ly.” The Doctor nodded in agreement. “Triptolemus, he was prince, yeah? A mortal?”

Nico nodded. “When Persephone’s mom was looking for her after she was kidnapped by Hades, not a lot of people would help her. Hecate lit her way at night with her torches, and when Demeter came to his part of Greece, Triptolemus gave her a place to stay. He comforted her, gave her a meal, and offered his assistance. He didn’t know she was a goddess, but Demeter rewarded Triptolemus by making him the god of farming.”

The Doctor nodded weakly. He glanced towards Hazel’s plant. “Where’s Frank?”

“Oh, he’s trying to fix Triptolemus’s chariot. I offered to come along, but he told me to stay here with you.”

“Brillian –” The Doctor couldn’t even get the full words out before he began to choke again, the same metallic wetness coating the inside of his mouth. He barely noticed his eyes slide shut and his head drop back to the bed.

The Doctor woke up, choking and coughing, spitting out a foul taste in his mouth. He felt significantly better than before. Perhaps not one hundred percent, but certainly a strong eighty-five.

He looked around, his eyes landing on Frank.

He frowned. “What –?”

Frank was taller, more bulky, he looked…older.

Nico raised his eyebrows, looking visibly impressed.

“Okay, heal Hazel now.” Frank demanded of Triptolemus.

Triptolemus looked almost afraid of Frank. He pointed at the corn plant, and Hazel appeared in an explosion of corn silk.

Hazel looked around in panic. “I – I had the weirdest dream about popcorn. I – Woah.” She stared at Frank. “What happened to you?”

“Uh…I don’t…”Frank looked somewhat bewildered. “Maybe I can fix it.”

Hazel laughed with delight. “Why? You look amazing!”

“I – I do?”

“I mean, you were handsome before! But you look older, and taller, and so distinguished –”

Triptolemus heaved a dramatic sigh. “Yes, obviously some sort of blessing from Mars. Congratulations, blah, blah, blah. Now, if we’re done here…?”

Frank glared at him. “We’re not done yet. You were going to tell us how to survive the House of Hades.”

The farm god raised his eyes to the ceiling as if to say,  _ Why me, Demeter? _

“Fine.” Triptolemus said. “When you arrive at Epirus, you will be offered a chalice to drink from.”

“By whom?” The Doctor inquired.

“Doesn’t matter,” Trip snapped. “Just know that it is filled with deadly poison.”

Hazel shuddered. “So you’re saying that we shouldn’t drink it.”

“No!” Trip said. “You  _ must  _ drink it, or you’ll never be able to make it through the temple. The poison connects you to the world of the dead, lets you pass into the lower levels. The secret to surviving is” – his eyes twinkled –  _ ”barley.” _

Frank stared at him. “Barley.”

“In the front room, take some of my special barley. Make it into little cakes. Eat those before you step into the House of Hades. The barley will absorb the worst parts of the poison, so it will  _ affect  _ you, but not kill you.”

“That’s it?” Nico demanded. “Hecate sent us halfway across Italy so you could tell us to eat barley?”

“Good luck!” Triptolemus sprinted across the room and hopped into his chariot. “And, Frank Zhang, I forgive you! You’ve got spunk. If you ever change your mind, my offer is open. I’d love to see you get a degree in farming!”

“Yeah,” Frank muttered. “Thanks.”

The god pulled a lever on his chariot. The snake-wheels on it turned. The wings flapped. At the back of the room, the garage doors rolled open.

“Oh, to be mobile again!” Triptolemus cried. “So many ignorant lands in need of my knowledge. I will teach them the glories of tilling, irrigation, fertilization!” The chariot lifted off and zipped out of the house, Triptolemus shouting to the sky, “Away, my serpents! Away!”

“That,” Hazel said, “Was very strange.”

“You know, I got a degree in farming once.” The Doctor said.

Hazel gave an exasperated sigh. 

“What did Triptolemus make you do, anyway?” She asked Frank.

Frank took a steadying breath. “Those cow monsters…the katoblepones. I had to destroy them.”

“That was brave,” Nico said. “There must have been, what, six or seven left in that herd.”

“No.” Frank cleared his throat. “All of them. I killed  _ all  _ of them in the city.”

The Doctor, Hazel, and Nico stared at him in a stunned silence.

Hazel threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. 

“Well,” Nico said once Hazel and Frank had finished. “Does anyone know what barley looks like?”


	7. Giant Turtles and One Good Shot

By the second day back on the ship, the Doctor was feeling back to his usual self. Not that he would ever admit to anyone that he’d been anything but in the past couple days.

The Doctor had been staring at the ceiling of his room when it happened.

Festus creaked in alarm and shot fire as the ship suddenly jolted violently. The Doctor nearly toppled off the bed.

“Gahh!” Leo yelled somewhere above him. “It’s eating the oars!”

The Doctor sprinted towards the stern. Piper was already on the quarterdeck, shooting food from her conrucopia and yelling, “Hey! HEY! Eat this, ya stupid turtle!”

Leo was frantically working the ship’s controls. “Oars won’t retract. Get it away! Get it away!”

Frank and Hazel rushed in together, weapons out and at the ready.

Up in the rigging, Nico’s face was slack with shock.

“Styx – it’s huge!” He yelled. “Port! Go port!”

Jason sprinted out, whipping his sword around.

Coach Hedge was the last one on deck. He compensated for that with enthusiasm. He bounded up the steps, waving his baseball bat, and without hesitation galloped to the stern and leapt over the rail with a gleeful “Ha-HA!”

The boat shuddered as the Doctor ran towards the quarterdeck to join the others. More oars snapped, and Leo yelled, “No, no, no! Dang slimy-shelled son of a mother!”

The Doctor reached the stern and found himself staring at a turtle about the size of an island. He had a massive dome of craggy black and brown squares. The shell looked more like a landmass with hills of bone, shiny pearl valleys, kelp, and moss forests. Rivers of seawater trickled down the grooves of his carapace.”

On the ship’s starboard side, another part of the creature rose from the water.

“Lares of Rome…” Hazel breathed.

His head rose from the water – golden eyes the size of wading pools, dark sideways slits for pupils. His skin glistened like wet camouflage – brown flecked with green and yellow. His mouth was red, toothless, and large enough to swallow the Athena Parthenos.

The Doctor watched as he snapped off half a dozen oars.

“Stop that!” Leo wailed.

Coach Hedge clambered around the turtle’s shell, whacking at it uselessly with his baseball bat and yelling, “Take that! And that!”

Jason flew from the stern and landed on the creature’s head. He stabbed his golden sword directly between his eyes, but the blade slipped sideways, as if the turtle’s skin were greased steel. Frank shot arrows at the creature’s eyes without success. The turtle’s filmy inner eyelids blinked with uncanny precision, deflecting each shot. Piper shot cantaloupes into the water, yelling, “Fetch, ya stupid tutle!” But the turtle seemed much too fixated on eating the  _ Argo II.  _ The Doctor decided to join Leo at the controls, the two working together to try and get the ship loose.

“How did it get so close?” Hazel demanded.

Leo threw his hands up in exasperation. “Must be that shell. Guess it’s invisible to sonar. It’s a freaking stealth turtle!”

“Can the ship fly?” Piper asked.

“With half our oars broken off?” Leo spun the Archimedes sphere. “We’ll have to try something else.”

“There!” Nico yelled from above. “Can you get us to those straits?”

The Doctor looked towards where Nico was pointing. About a kilometer to the east, a long strip of land ran parallel to the coastal cliffs. The stretch looked only to be thirty or forty yards across – just barely wide enough for the  _ Argo II  _ to slip through, though not nearly wide enough for the turtle.

“Brilliant, Nico!” The Doctor grinned up at him, then he looked back at Leo. “We can fit.”

“Jason, get away from that thing’s head!” Leo shouted at the son of Jupiter. “I have an idea!”

The moment Jason heard Leo’s shout, he flew away as fast as he could. He knew as well as anyone else that Leo’s ‘ideas’ tended to get…explosive.

“Coach, come on!” Jason said.

“No, I got this!” Coach Hedge said, but Jason grabbed him around the waist and took off. Unfortunately, the coach struggled so much that Jason’s sword fell out of his hand and splashed into the sea.

“Coach!” Jason complained.

“What?” Coach Hedge said. “I was softening him up!”

The turtle head-butted the hull, nearly tossing the entire crew port side.

Leo snatched the Sonic right out of the Doctor’s fingers and began to get to work.

“Oi!”

“Just give me a sec!” Leo said, his hands flying over the console.

“We might not be here in another minute!” Frank fired his last arrow.

Piper yelled at the turtle, “Go away!”

For a moment, her charmspeak worked. The turtle turned from the ship and dipped his head underwater. But then it came right back and rammed them even harder than before.

Jason and Coach Hedge landed on the deck.

“You ‘right?” The Doctor checked.

“Fine,” Jason muttered. “Without a weapon, but fine.”

“Fire in the shell!” Leo cried, spinning his Wii controller.

Jets of fire exploded out of the stern and washing over the turtle’s head. The ship shot forwards, nearly throwing the Doctor to the deck.

The ship was bouncing over the waves at a mad speed, trailing fire towards the turtle – now already a hundred meters behind them, his head charred and smoking.

The creature bellowed in frustration and started after them. His paddle feet scooped through the water with such force that the Doctor was concerned he may just begin to gain on them. The entrance to the straits was still a half kilometer ahead.

“A distraction,” Leo muttered. “We’ll never make it unless we get a distraction.”

The Doctor’s face lit up. “I’m a _ brilliant  _ distract –”

He couldn’t even get the words out all the way before Hazel’s hand smacked him in the face.

_ “What was that for?” _

“For offering yourself up as a sacrifice.  _ Again.”  _

“Fine, then.” The Doctor grumped. “Do it yourself.”

Hazel smirked, placed two fingers in her mouth, and let out a loud whistle.

Just on the horizon, the Doctor could see a flash of light and steam. It streaked across the surface of the Adriatic, and in a heartsbeat, Arion stood on the quarterdeck.

“Oh, gods, I love you.” Hazel wrapped her arms around her steed’s neck.

_ “Of course you do.”  _ Arion snorted.  _ “You’re not an idiot.” _

Hazel climbed on her horse’s back. “Piper, I could use that charmspeak of yours.”

“Once upon a time, I liked turtles,” Hazel muttered, accepting a hand up. “Not anymore!”

Hazel spurred Arion. He leapt over the side of the boat, hitting the water at a full gallop.

The turtle was fast, but he was nowhere near close to Arion’s speed. Hazel and Piper zipped around the monster’s head. Hazel slicing with her sword, Piper shouting random commands such as: “Dive! Turn left! Look behind you!”

They looked like they had this pretty under control.

It wasn’t long that the creature forgot the  _ Argo II  _ altogether and the ship was able to easily slip into the straits.

Once this happened, Arion broke off his harassment. They sped after the ship, and a moment later was back on the deck.

The rocket fire had extinguished, though smoking bronze exhaust vents still jutted from the stern. The  _ Argo II  _ limped forwards under sail power, but Leo’s plan had paid off. They were safely harbored in the narrow waters, with a long, rocky island to starboard and the sheer white cliffs of the mainland to port. The turtle stopped at the entrance to the straits and glared at them balefully, but made no attempt to follow. His shell was very obviously much too wide.

Hazel dismounted and embraced Frank. “Nice work out there!” He said.

Hazel flushed. “Thanks.”

Piper slid down next to her, running towards the Doctor and Leo. “Since when do we have  _ jet  _ propulsion?”

“Aw, you know…” Leo was clearly trying to look modest and failed. “Just a little something the Doc and I whipped up a few days ago.”

“That was awesome.” Jason smiled. “So what now?”

“Kill it!” Coach Hedge said. “You even have to ask? We got enough distance. We got ballistae. Lock and load, demigods!”

Jason frowned. “Coach, first of all, you made me lose my sword.”

“Hey! I didn’t ask for an evac!”

“We’re not using the ballistae.” The Doctor sighed.

“I doubt they’d even break the shell.” Hazel said. “It’s like Nemean Lion skin, and his head isn’t any softer.”

“So we chuck one right down its throat,” Coach Hedge said, “Like you guys did with that shrimp monster thing in the Atlantic. Light it up from the inside.”

Frank scratched his head. “Might work. But then you’ve got a five million kilo turtle carcass blocking the entrance to the straits. If we can’t fly with the oars broken, how do we get the ship out?”

“You wait and fix the oars!” Coach Hedge said. “Or just sail the other direction, you big galoot.”

Frank looked confused. “What’s a galoot?”

“Guys!” Nico called down from the mast. “About sailing the other direction? I don't think that’s going to work.”

He pointed at the prow.

A half kilometer ahead of them, the long rocky strip of land curved in and met the cliffs. The channel ended in a narrow V. 

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair. “We’re not in a strait.” He said. “It’s a dead end.”

By the railing, the Doctor could see Gale the weasel sitting up on her haunches, staring at Hazel expectantly. She was watching them.

“This is a trap.” Hazel said, glancing at Gale.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Leo said. “Worse that happens, we make repairs. Might take overnight, but I’m sure the Doc and I can get the ship flying again.”

At the mouth of the inlet, the turtle roared. It didn’t appear all that interested in leaving.

“Well…” Piper shrugged. “At least the turtle can’t get us. We’re safe here.”

“Oh, come on, that’s almost as bad as ‘nothing could possibly go wrong.’” The Doctor groaned. “Or, ‘this is going to be the best Christmas ever –’”

The Doctor hadn’t even gotten the words out fully when an arrow sank into the mainmast, six inches from his face.

The crew scattered for cover, the Doctor pulling Hazel down, but no other arrows rained down.

Frank studied the angle of the bolt in the mast and pointed towards the top of the cliffs.

“Up there,” He said. “Single shooter. See him?”

The Doctor could spot a small figure standing at the top of the ledge, his bronze armor glinting in the sunlight.

“Who the heck is he?” Leo demanded. “Why is he firing at us?”

The Doctor turned back to the arrow.

“There’s a note.” He murmured.

He hadn’t noticed it when it was hurtling towards his head, but now the Doctor could see a parchment scroll was tied to the arrow shaft. He untied it.

“Uh, Doctor?” Leo said cautiously. “You sure that’s safe?”

“Probably.” The Doctor shrugged. He read the note aloud: “First line:  _ Stand and deliver.” _

“What does that mean?” Coach Hedge complained. “We  _ are  _ standing. Well, crouching, anyway. And if that guy is expecting a pizza delivery, forget it!”

The Doctor rolled his eyes.  _ “This is a robbery.”  _ He went on.  _ “Send three of your party to the top of the cliff with all your valuables. No more than three. Leave the magic horse. No flying. No tricks. Just climb.” _

“Climb  _ what?”  _ Piper asked.

Nico pointed. “There.”

A narrow set of stairs were carved into the cliff, leading to the top. The turtle, the dead-end channel, the cliff…This was  _ not  _ the first time whoever this was had ambushed a ship here.

_ “I do mean  _ all _ your valuables.”  _ The Doctor kept going.  _ “Otherwise my turtle and I will destroy you. You have five minutes.” _

“Use the catapults!” Coach Hedge cried.

_ “P.S.,”  _ The Doctor finished,  _ “Don’t even think about using your catapults.” _

“Curse it!” said the coach. “This guy is good.”

“Is the note signed?” Nico asked.

The Doctor shook his head, staring at the cliff top.

“That’s not a good trajectory.” Leo said. “Even if I could arm the catapult before that guy pincushioned us with arrows, I don’t think I could make the shot. That’s hundreds of feet, almost straight up.”

“Yeah,” Frank grumbled. “My bow is useless too. He’s got a huge advantage, being above us like that. I couldn’t reach him.”

“He’s got the high ground.” The Doctor agreed.

“And, um…” Piper warily watched the arrow that was stuck in the mast. “I have a feeling he’s a good shot. I don’t think he  _ meant  _ to hit me. But if he did…”

She didn’t need to elaborate. Whoever this robber was, he could hit a target from hundreds of meters away. That was not good.

“I’ll go.” Hazel said. “I – I think Hecate set this up for me. It’s some sort of challenge.” She glanced at Gale nervously.

Gale looked up at her and scampered towards the girl. She jumped on Hazel’s shoulder, ready to hitch a ride.

“Not to mention,” Hazel looked around nervously. “This robber wants valuables. I can go up there, summon gold, jewels, whatever he wants.”

Leo raised an eyebrow. “If we pay him off, you think he’ll actually let us go?”

“We don’t have much choice,” Nico said. “Between that guy and the turtle…”

“I’m going as well.” The Doctor said. “Maybe we can negotiate –”

“Because that always goes well.” Jason sighed. “I’ll go too, make sure the Doctor doesn’t get himself killed. Besides,” He glanced at the cliff. “I don’t like the look of those stairs. If Hazel or the Doctor fall…well, I can use the winds to keep us from coming down the hard way.”

Arion whinnied in protest.

_ “You’re going without me? You’ve gotta be kidding!” _

“I have to Arion,” Hazel said. She’d been able to interpret Arion’s whinnies and body language much better as of late. “You’re right, Jason.” She said, looking at the boy. “I think that’s the best plan.”

“Only wish I had my sword.” Jason glared at the coach. “It’s back there at the bottom of the sea, and we don’t have Percy to retrieve it.”

The name  _ Percy  _ passed over the crew coldly. 

Hazel closed her eyes for a moment. She stretched out her arms, and finally, Jason’s blade flew out of the water and into her hand.

“Here,” She said, handing it over.

Jason’s eyes widened. “How…That was like half a mile!”

“I’ve been practicing,” Hazel said casually. “Now, if there are no other objections, we have a robber to meet.”

The Doctor grinned. “Allons-y!”


	8. Bloody Guns

The Doctor may have been used to climbing sixty meter cliffs on a stairway without rails, but Hazel and Jason…weren’t.

Hazel glanced to the right, over the edge of the cliff, and nearly slipped, but the Doctor was able to spin around and catch her, Jason reaching out to do the same from behind.

“You ‘right?” The Doctor asked.

“Yes.” Hazel nodded, glancing down again nervously. “Fine.”

They walked a little while longer, until Gale the polecat jumped off Hazel’s shoulder and scampered ahead. She glanced back and barked eagerly.

_ “Come on! Faster! Faster!” _

“Going as fast as I can.” Hazel muttered, not needing to know what the weasel was saying to understand what she meant.

“So, Hazel,” The Doctor said, “Had any luck controlling the Mist?”

“No,” Hazel admitted.

“You’ll get it.” The Doctor encouraged. “Be patient.”

“How can you be sure?” Hazel asked.

“Because you’re Hazel Levesque.” The Doctor said, “You’re brilliant!”

“And I don't think Hecate would’ve picked you if she didn’t believe you had power.” Jason said.

Hazel smiled gratefully, but didn’t respond.

They reached the top, Hazel and Jason gasping and sweaty.

A long sloping valley marched inland, dotted with scraggly olive trees and limestone boulders. There were no signs of civilization.

Gale seemed eager to explore, urging Hazel to hurry it along, but Hazel was still collapsed next to Jason, trying to catch their breaths.

“Where –” Jason began to ask.

“Here!” said a voice.

Only three meters away, a man had appeared, a bow and quiver over his shoulder and two flintlock dueling pistols in his hands. He wore high leather boots, leather breeches, and a pirate-style shirt. His hair was curly and black, his sparkly green eyes looked friendly, but a red bandana covered the lower half of his face.

“Welcome!” The bandit cried, pointing his guns at them. “Your money or your life!”

“I would offer you my money, but I haven’t got any.” The Doctor shrugged casually. “Who are you, anyways?”

“I am Sciron, of course!”

“Chiron?” Jason asked. “Like the centaur?”

The bandit rolled his eyes.  _ “Sky- _ ron, my friend. Son of Poseidon! Thief extraordinaire! All-around awesome buy! But that’s not important. You said you have no valuables!” He cried this out as if it were excellent news. “I guess that means you want to die?”

“Wait,” Hazel said, giving the Doctor a nasty look. “We’ve got valuables. But if we give them up, how can we be sure you’ll let us go?”

“Oh, they  _ always  _ ask that,” Sciron said. “I promise you, on the River Styx, that as soon as you surrender what I want, I will  _ not  _ shoot you. I will send you right back down that cliff.”

“But what if you want our lives?” The Doctor asked. “I can’t take that chance.”

“Yeah,” Hazel said, glaring at the Time Lord.  _ “We  _ can’t take that chance.”

Sciron rolled his eyes. “But I don’t  _ want  _ your lives. Just your valuables.”

“What if we fought you?” Jason asked, “You can’t attack us and hold our ship hostage at the same –”

_ BANG! BANG! _

It happened shockingly fast.

Smoke curled from the side of Jason’s head, just above his left ear, a groove cut through his hair like a racing stripe. One of Sciron’s flintlocks were still pointed at his face. The other flintlock was pointed down, over the side of the cliff. Sciron’s second shot had been fired at the  _ Argo II _ .

_ “What did you do?”  _ The Doctor demanded.

“Oh, don’t worry!” Sciron laughed. “If you could see that far – which you can’t – you’d see a hole in the deck between the shoes of the big young man, the one with the bow.”

“Frank!” Hazel cried.

Sciron shrugged. “If you say so. That was just a demonstration. I’m afraid it  _ could  _ have been much more serious.”

He spun his flintlocks. The hammers reset, and the gun looked to have magically reloaded.

Sciron waggled his eyebrows at Jason. “So! To answer your question – yes, I  _ can  _ attack you and hold your ship hostage at the same time. Celestial bronze ammunition. Quite deadly to demigods.  You three would die first –  _ bang, bang.  _ Then I could take my time picking off your friends on that ship. Target practice is so much more fun with live targets running around screaming!”

Jason touched the new furrow that the bullet had plowed through his hair. For once, he didn’t look all that confident.

“You’re son of Poseidon, right?” The Doctor hummed, looking down towards the ship. “I would’ve thought Apollo with a shot like that.”

The smile lines around his eyes. “Why, thank you! It’s just from practice, though. The giant turtle – that’s due to my parentage. You can’t go around taming giant turtles without being a son of Poseidon! I  _ could  _ overwhelm your ship with a tidal wave, of course, but it’s terribly difficult work. Not nearly as fun as ambushing and shooting people.”

“And the bandana,” The Doctor said, examining it, “What’s it for?”

“So no one recognizes me!” Sciron said.

“But you introduced yourself,” Jason said. “You’re Sciron.”

The bandit’s eyes widened. “How did you – Oh. Yes, I suppose I did.” He lowered one flintlock and scratched the side of his head with the other. “Terribly sloppy of me. Sorry. I’m afraid I’m a little rusty. Back from the dead, and all that. Let me try again.”

He leveled his pistols. “Stand and deliver! I am an anonymous bandit, and you  _ do not  _ need to know my name!”

“Wait, Theseus,” Hazel said, “He killed you once.”

The Doctor nodded. “Yep. Theseus met him on the road to Athens.”

“Theseus was  _ such  _ a cheater!” Sciron complained. “I don’t want to talk about him. I’m back from the dead now. Gaea promised me I could stay on the coastline and rob all the demigods I wanted, and that’s what I’m going to do! Now…where were we?”

“You were about to let us go,” Hazel ventured.

“Hmm…” Sciron said. “No, I’m pretty sure that wasn’t it. Ah, right! Money or your life, and you have no valuables! That means I get to –”

“Wait,” Hazel said. “I have our valuables. At least, I can get them.”

Sciron pointed a flintlock at Jason’s head, then the other at the Doctor’s. “Well, then, my dear, hop to it, or my next shot will cut off more than your friends’ hair!”

Hazel lifted her hands and was suddenly surrounded by a knee-high mound of treasure – Roman denarii, silver drachmas, ancient golden jewelry, glittering diamonds and topaz and rubies.

Sciron laughed with delight. “How in the  _ world  _ did you do that?”

“Just take the treasure,” Hazel said. “Let us go.”

Sciron chuckled. “Oh, but I did say  _ all  _ your valuables. I understand you’re holding something very special on that ship…a certain ivory and gold statue about, say, forty feet tall?”

This was…bad.

“The statue isn’t negotiable.” Jason said boldly.

“You’re right, it’s not!” Sciron agreed. “I must have it!”

“Gaea told you about it,” Hazel guessed. “She ordered you to take it.”

Sciron shrugged. “Maybe. But she told me I could keep it for myself. Hard to pass up that offer! I don’t intend to die again, my friends. I intend to live a long life as a very wealthy man!”

The statue won’t do you any good,” Hazel said. “Not if Gaea destroys the world.”

The muzzles of Sciron’s pistols wavered. “Pardon?”

“Gaea is using you.” Hazel said. “If you take the statue, we won’t be able to defeat her. She’s planning on wiping all mortals and demigods off the face of the earth, letting her giants and monsters take over. So where will you spend your gold, Sciron? Assuming Gaea even lets you live.”

Sciron was silent for a ten-count.

Finally, his smile lines returned.

“All right!” He said. “I’m not unreasonable. Keep the statue.”

Jason blinked. “We can go?”

“Just one more thing,” Sciron said. “I always demand a show of respect. Before I let my victims leave, I insist that they wash my feet.”

The Doctor frowned.

There was something about that…it was familiar…

His bare feet were puffy, wrinkled, and white as a sheet. Tufts of brown hair sprouted from each misshapen toe. His jagged toenails were green and yellow.

Jason stared incredulously at the bandit. “You can’t be serious.”

“Deadly.” Sciron said. “Wash my feet, and we’re done. I’ll send you black down the cliff. I promise on the River Styx.”

Something dawned on the Doctor.

“Right,” He said quickly, “We’ve just got to talk for a moment – decide who’ll do which, you know?”

“Of course!” Sciron said. The Doctor could tell he was grinning under his mask. “I’m so generous, you can have  _ two  _ minutes.”

The Doctor pulled Hazel out from her pile of treasure and led her and Jason as far as he dared – about fifteen meters out.

“Sciron,” He said quickly. “He would make travelers stop to wash his feet, then kick them over a cliff. When they fell into the sea below, they were eaten by his turtle.”

“So we have to fight.” Jason said.

“No.” The Doctor snapped.

“He’s too fast,” Hazel added. “He’ll kill all three of us.”

“Then I’ll be ready to fly. When he kicks me over, I’ll float halfway down the cliff. When he kicks you guys, I’ll catch you.”

Hazel shook her head. “If he kicks you hard and fast enough, you’ll be too dazed to fly. And even if you can, Sciron’s got the eyes of a marksman. He’ll watch you fall. If you hover, he’ll just shoot you out of the air.”

“We’ve got to find another way.” The Doctor sighed.

About a meter away, Gale appeared from the pushes and peer at Hazel expectantly.

_ “Well, do you have any ideas?” _ She asked.

Hazel took a deep breath. “I’ve got an idea.”

“Finally!” Sciron cried. “That was  _ much  _ longer than two minutes!”

“Well, it was a big decision, wasn’t it?” The Doctor said.

Jason stepped forth, his hands up in surrender. “I’ll go first, Sciron. I’ll wash your left foot.”

“Excellent choice!” Sciron wriggled his hairy toes. “I may have stepped on something with that foot. It felt a little squishy inside my boot. But I’m sure you’ll clean it properly.”

Jason’s ears reddened. From the tension in his neck, the Doctor could tell that he was tempted to drop the charade and attack – one quick slash with his Imperial golden blade. But the Doctor knew if he tried, he would fail.

“Sciron,” Hazel said quickly, clearly noticing Jason’s tension as well. “Do you have water? Soap? How are we supposed to wash –”

“Like this!” Sciron spun his left flintlock. Suddenly, it became a squirt bottle with a rag. He tossed it to Jason.

Jason squinte at the label. “You want me to wash your feet with  _ glass  _ cleaner?”

“Of course not!” Sciron knit his eyebrows. “It says  _ multi-surface  _ cleanser. My feet definitely qualify as  _ multi-surface.  _ Besides, it’s antibacterial. I need that. Believe me, water won’t do the trick on  _ these  _ babies.”

Sciron wiggled his toes.

Jason gagged at the smell. “Oh, gods, no…”

Sciron shrugged. “You can always choose what’s in my other hand.” He hefted his right flintlock.

“He'll do it,” Hazel said.

Jason glared at her, but reluctantly muttered, “Fine.”

“Excellent! Now…” Sciron hopped to the nearest chunk of limestone that was on the right side for a footstool. He faced the water and planted his foot. “I’ll watch the horizon while you scrub my bunions. It’ll be much more enjoyable.”

“Yeah,” Jason grumbled. “I bet.”

Jason knelt before the bandit, at the edge of the cliff where he was an easy target. One kick and he’d topple over.

From his right, the Doctor could see Hazel close her eyes in intense concentration.

Jason squirted the cleaning fluid. His eyes watered. He wiped Sciron’s big toe with his rag and turned aside to gag.

It was so fast, the Doctor nearly missed the kick.

Sciron slammed his foot into Jason’s chest. Jason tumbled backwards over the edge, his arms flailing, screaming as he fell.

Just as he was about to hit the water, the turtle rose up and swallowed him in one bite, then sank below the surface.

Alarm bells sounded on the  _ Argo II _ . The crew had scrambled on the deck, manning the catapults. The Doctor could hear Piper wailing all the way from the ship.

“No!” The Doctor feigned shock and horror, running to the edge of the cliff.

“Oh, dear…” Sciron sounded said, but the Doctor could see the lines of a smile around his face. “That was an accident, I assure you.”

“Our friends will  _ kill  _ you now!” Hazel cried.

“They can try,” Sciron said. “But in the meantime, my foot hasn’t been cleaned properly. And I think you have time to wash my other foot, too! Believe me, my dears. My turtle is full now. He doesn't want you two. You’ll be quite safe, unless you refuse.”

He leveled his flintlock pistol at the Doctor’s head.

Hazel hesitated.

“Don’t kick us!” She cried, half-sobbing.

Sciron’s eyes twinkled, convinced he had won again.

“Of course not, my dear.” Sciron promised.

Hazel snatched up the spray bottle Jason had dropped.

“Sciron,” She growled. “Your feet are the  _ least  _ disgusting thing about you.”

His green eyes hardened. “Just  _ clean _ .”

The Doctor and Hazel knelt down, the Doctor taking the one Jason had started, Hazel taking the other.

Hazel’s form stayed in the same position, though the Doctor could feel something pulling on his trenchcoat.

Hazel shuffled sideways, the Doctor shuffled in the same direction.

After a moment, they repeated this action. Then again. With each shuffle, Sciron was forced to adjust his movement. To the Doctor’s relief, the image behind the bandit remained the same with each shuffle. The Mist was working.

“Just get on with it!” Sciron said.

They both began to clean.

When the kick came, both the Doctor and Hazel were knocked backwards, but neither went far. The Doctor and Hazel landed a few meters away in the grass.

Sciron stared at the two of them. “But…”

Then, the world shifted. The illusion melted, leaving Sciron totally confused. The sea was at  _ his  _ back. He’d only succeeded in kicking the Doctor and Hazel  _ away  _ from the ledge.

He lowered his flintlock. “How –”

“Stand and deliver,” Hazel told him.

Jason swooped out of the sky, right over their heads, and body-slammed the bandit over the cliff.

“You didn’t have to do that!” The Doctor cried. “We could’ve tied him up, or –”

But neither half-blood was listening. They were watching as Sciron fell, screaming and firing his flintlock wildly, but for once, hitting nothing. The Doctor got to the cliff’s edge just in time to see the turtle lunge and snap Sciron out of the air.

It was then, that Hazel hit the ground.

“Hazel!” Jason cried.

The Doctor was by her side in an instant, but the girl was out cold.

“She’ll be fine.” The Doctor decided. “The use of the Mist may have just drained her.”

“You don’t seem so sure about that.” Jason admitted.

“She’ll be fine.” The Doctor repeated, more firmly this time. “Come on, let’s get back to the ship.”


	9. Well, There’s Good News and There’s Bad News

Jason had been fighting storm spirits.

It was the morning after their encounter with Sciron, and Jason had been on duty keeping the monsters away from the ship.

It all had happened much too fast. There was no time for Frank to turn into an eagle and catch the boy, no time to formulate a proper plan. Jason was falling through the air, completely unconscious.

Piper was the one who managed to save the day.

She shouted,  _ “WAKE UP!” _

Her charmspeak shocked Jason into awakening. At the last possible moment, Jason summoned the winds and avoided slamming into the Adriatic.

Once he was back on board, he pulled Leo aside, then gathered the crew in the canteen.

“I had this dream,” He admitted.

“You fell asleep in midair?” Piper cried.

“Oh, yeah,” Jason’s cheeks burned red. “I was on the roof of a tall building in Manhattan. I could see the Empire State Building, and it was storming – like, all sorts of thunder and lightning. Olympus was lit, but the lights looked like they were malfunctioning, going from purple to orange.

“The roof that I was on had a bunch of my old friends from Camp Jupiter; Reyna, Dakota, Nathan, Leila, and Marcus. Oh, and Octavian was there – he looked like he hadn’t slept in ages. Reyna had Aurum and Argentum – her metal dogs – with her. She – she looked tired and tense.

“They were all staring at the door to the roof. It was like they were waiting for something.”

“What was it?” Leo asked impatiently.

“It were these two guys. One was Grover –”

“Grover?” The Doctor perked up immediately.

“And the other?” Piper leaned forwards, listening intently.

“It was Rachel Elizabeth Dare.”

“The oracle?” Hazel frowned. “Why?”

“She talked to Reyna,” Jason explained. “She said Reyna’d got her message. Uh, Octavian called her some foul things and asked if she’d come to discuss Greek surrender terms. Rachel said Grover was a leader of some sort of Council of Cloves or something –”

“The Council of Cloven Elders,” The Doctor said. “They protect wild places and try to save the environment from humans.”

“Um, Aurum and Argentum were making sure Rachel was telling the truth – which she was – but Reyna still threatened her anyway – but I’m pretty sure she was doing a lot of it for Octavian’s sake –”

He didn’t sound so sure about that.

“Anyway,” Jason went on, “Rachel, she had this message from Annabeth.”

_ “What?”  _ The crew gaped at him.

“From…From Tartarus?” Frank stared.

Jason nodded wordlessly. “It was on a napkin.”

“How?” The Doctor asked.

“She said it appeared in the sacrificial fire at the dining pavilion. It asked specifically for Reyna.”

“What did it say?” Hazel urged. “What  _ exactly –” _

“I don’t know exactly,” Jason admitted. “But it pretty much said that Reyna needed to be the one to take the parthenos to Camp Half-Blood – Rachel even foresaw her doing that.

“Octavian thought it was a trick – obviously – But Reyna seems more optimistic.”

“You said Rachel foresaw her bringing the parthenos back,” The Doctor said. “Foresaw it how? Did she give a prophecy?”

“No, no,” Jason said quickly, “There was no prophecy, but Octavian was saying that there was no way she could be the Oracle of Delphi, she did the whole glowing green thing, but said there was no specific prophecy right now, but she  _ could  _ see glimpses of the future. She saw Reyna with the parthenos and…She – she told them about Ella. About how she’s been murmuring lines from the Sibylline Books.”

“Let me guess,” Frank said, “Octavian wants to take her.”

Jason nodded. “He thinks the Greeks stole her.”

“And what does Reyna think?” The Doctor asked.

“She seems to agree with Rachel and Grover – Ella is her own harpy.”

“Good.” The Doctor nodded approvingly.

“Grover told them about Gaea stirring,” Jason went on, “She’s been trying to turn nyads, causing earthquakes, uprooting the dryads’ trees. Apparently just last week alone she appeared in human form in a dozen different places.”

“Let me guess,” Leo grumbled. “Octavian thinks it’s all horse-crap.”

“Yep.” Jason sighed. “Said it’s ‘the Trojan Horse all over again.’ But –” He took a deep breath and looked up, his face looking hopeful. “She said she’ll do it. She’s going to sail to Greece and find us. She’s going to take the parthenon to Camp Half-Blood.”

“This is great!” Hazel cried.

“But there’s just one thing,” Jason admitted. “In Reyna’s absence…Octavian’s in charge.”

This was not good.

“But Annabeth is alive.” The Doctor sighed in relief. “She and Percy  _ must  _ be okay.”

No one dared mention that the note had said nothing of Percy.

“I can’t believe Reyna would try to find us.” Frank said. “It’s taboo, coming to the Ancient Lands. She’ll be stripped of her praetorship.”

“If she lives,” Hazel said. “It was hard enough for us to make it this far with an alien, seven demigods, and a warship.”

“And me.” Coach Hedge belched. “Don’t forget, cupcake, you’ve got the  _ satyr  _ advantage.”

The Doctor had to smile.

“Crossing the Atlantic is a hard journey, no doubt.” Jason said. “But I’d never bet against Reyna. If anyone can make it, she will.”

“Well, I’d love to see Reyna again,” Piper said, circling her spoon through her soup, “But how is she supposed to find us?”

Frank raised his hand. “Can’t you just send her an Iris-message?”

“They’re not working very well,” Coach Hedge put in. “Horrible reception. Every night, I swear, I could  _ kick  _ that rainbow goddess…”

He faltered. His face turned bright red.

“Coach?” Leo grinned. “Who have you been calling every night, you old goat?”

“No one!” Coach Hedge snapped. “Nothing! I just meant –”

“He means we’ve already tried,” Hazel intervened, and the coach gave her a grateful look. The Doctor had a sneaking suspicion that this had something to do with the cloud nymph, Mellie. “Some magic is interfering…maybe Gaea. Contacting the Romans is even harder. I think they’re shielding themselves.”

Frank drummed his fingers on the table. “I don’t suppose Reyna has a cell phone…? Nah. Never mind. She’d probably have bad reception on a pegasus flying over the Atlantic anyway.”

“She’ll find us,” Jason said confidently. “She mentioned something in the dream – she’s expecting me to go to a certain place on our way to the House of Hades. I – I’d forgotten about it, actually, but she's right. It’s a place I need to visit.”

“Where is it?” The Doctor prompted.

“It’s a town called Split.”

“Split?” Piper sounded amused.

“Um, yeah.” Jason said awkwardly. “In fact, we should be getting close. Leo?”

Leo punched the intercom button. “How’s it going up there, buddy?”

Festus creaked and steamed.

“He says maybe ten minutes to the harbor,” Leo reported. “Though I still don’t get why you want to go to Croatia, especially a town called  _ Split. _ I mean, you name your city  _ Split _ , you gotta figure it’s a warning to, you know,  _ split. _ Kind of like naming your city  _ Get Out!” _

The Doctor smiled. “There’s actually a planet in the Korak System called  _ Escape With Your Lives!  _ Well, that’s the rough translation, anyways –”

“Wait,” Hazel cut in. “Why are we going to Croatia?”

Leo pushed his crisps and hot sauce aside. “Well, technically we’ve been in Croatian territory for the past day or so. All that coastline we’ve been sailing past is  _ it, _ but I guess back in the Roman times it was called…what did you say, Jason? Bodacious?”

The Doctor was about to correct him, when Nico said,

“Dalmatia.”

The boy stepped out of the shadows, his dark eyes fixed on Jason. Since rescuing him from Rome, Nico had slept very little and eaten even less. The Doctor was concerned about him.

“Croatia used to be Dalmatia,” Nico said. “A major Roman province. You want to visit Diocletian’s Palace, don’t you?”

“What’s Diocletian’s Palace?” The Doctor asked.

Hazel feigned complete and total shock, her act nearly toppling her off her seat. “The Doctor? Not knowing something?” She gasped dramatically. “Mark the calendars, we’re going to have to remember this day for  _ centuries _ .”

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “I don’t know  _ everything,  _ Hazel. Life wouldn’t be any fun if I knew everything.”

“It’s the palace of Diocletian,” Jason said. “Reyna and I used to talk about him – We both kind of idolized him as a leader. We talked about how we’d like to visit his palace. Of course, we knew that was impossible. No one could travel to the Ancient Lands. But still, we made this pact that if we ever  _ did,  _ that’s where we’d go.”

“But who is he?” Leo continued. “Why is he so important?”

Frank looked offended. “He was the last great pagan emperor!”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Why am I not surprised you know that, Zhang?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Frank said. “I mean, I understand how our resident alien over here wouldn’t know, but  _ you?”  _ He sighed disappointedly. “He was the last one who worshipped the Olympian gods, before Constantine came along and adopted Christiantiy.”

Hazel nodded. “The nuns at St. Agnes taught us that Diocletian was a huge villain, right along with Nero and Caligula.” She looked askance at Jason. “Why would you idolize him?”

“He wasn’t a  _ total  _ villain,” Jason said. “Yeah, he persecuted Christians, but otherwise he was a good ruler. He worked his way up from nothing by joining the legion. His parents were former slaves…or at least his  _ mom  _ was. Demigods know he was a son of Jupiter – the last demigod to rule Rome. He was also the first emperor ever to retire, like,  _ peacefully,  _ and give up his power. He was from Dalmatia, so he moved back there and built a retirement palace. The town of Split grew up around…”

He faltered, as he looked at Leo. Despite the Doctor’s look of complete and total fascination, Leo was…distracting. He was mimicking taking notes with an air pencil.

“Go on, Professor Grace!” He said, wide-eyed. “I wanna get an A on the test.”

“Shut up, Leo.” Jason grumbled.

“But why’s the palace important?” The Doctor asked.

Nico leaned over and plucked a garpe. “It’s said to be haunted by the ghost of Diocletian.”

“Oh! I  _ love  _ a good haunting.” The Doctor grinned.

“Who was son of Jupiter, like me,” Jason said. “His tomb was destroyed centuries ago, but Reyna and I used to wonder if we could find Diocletian’s ghost and ask where he was buried…well, according to the legends, his scepter was buried with him.”

Nico gave a thin smile. “Ah… _ that  _ legend.”

“What legend?” The Doctor asked. He absolutely  _ hated  _ being left in the dark on things.

Nico turned to him. “Supposedly Diocletian’s scepter could summon the ghosts of the Roman legions, any of them who worshipped the old gods.”

Leo whistled. “Okay,  _ now _ I’m interested. Be nice to have a booty-kicking army of pagan zombies on our side when we enter the House of Hades.”

“Not sure I would’ve put it that way,” Jason muttered, “But yeah.”

“We don’t have much time,” Frank warned. “It’s already July ninth. We have to get to Epirus, close the Doors of Death –”

“Which are guarded,” Hazel reminded him, “By a smoky giant and a sorceress who wants…” She hesitated. “Well, I’m not sure. But according to Pluto, she plans to ‘rebuild her domain.’ Whatever that means, it’s bad enough that my dad felt like warning me personally.”

Yes, a few nights ago, Hazel had informed the crew that she’d been visited by her father. He had warned them of the sorceress Pasiphaë, who resided in the House of Hades, who intended to rebuild her domain so as to endanger  _ all  _ demigods.

Frank grunted. “And if we survive all that, we still have to find out where the giants are waking Gaea and get there before the first of August. Besides, the longer Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus –”

“I know,” Jason said. “We won’t take long in Split. But looking for the scepter is worth a try. While we’re at the palace, I can leave a message for Reyna, letting her know the route we’re taking for Epirus.”

Nico nodded. “The scepter of Diocletian could make a huge difference. You’ll need my help.”

The Doctor grinned. “Brilliant, I’ll come too.”

“Me too.” Piper squeezed Jason’s hand.

Jason’s face visibly relaxed, but Nico shook his head. “You can’t, Piper. It should only be Jason, the Doctor, and me. Diocletian’s ghost might appear for a son of Jupiter, and we know the Doctor is…unique, but any other demigods would most likely…ah,  _ spook  _ him. And I’m the only one who can talk to his spirit. Even Hazel won’t be able to do that.”

The ship’s bell sounded. Festus creaked and whirred over the loudspeaker.

“We’ve arrived,” Leo announced. “Time to Split.”

Frank groaned. “Can we leave Valdez in Croatia?”

“Frank, you’re in charge of defending the ship.” Jason ordered. “Leo, you’ve got repairs to do –”

“Heck yeah, I do!” Leo grinned. “Got some awesome new update ideas. Doctor, can you Sonic me?”

The Doctor rolled his eyes and tossed over the Sonic.  _ “No  _ weapons.”

“Course, course.” Leo had a glint in his eye that informed the Doctor that Leo would, in fact, be making as many weapons as possible in the Time Lord’s absence.

“The rest of you, help out wherever you can.” Jason finished. “Nico, the Doctor and I…” He looked at the Doctor and Nico. “We’ve got a ghost to find.”


	10. Love is Never Kind

The  _ Argo II  _ anchored in the bay along with seven cruise ships. As usually, the mortals paid no attention to the trireme, though just to be safe, Jason, Nico, and the Doctor hopped a skiff from one of the tourist boats so they would look like part of the crowd when they came ashore.

Split seemed a lovely place; a long esplanade lined with palm trees curved around the harbor, teenagers hanging out at sidewalk cafés, speaking a dozen different languages and enjoying the sunny afternoon.

Beyond the main boulevard, the city was a mixture of medieval castle towers, Roman walls, limestone town houses with red-tiled roofs, and modern office buildings all crammed together. In the distance, gray-green hills marched towards a mountain ridge.

The three boys wandered along the esplanade when they spotted a man with wings purchasing an ice cream bar from a street cart. The vendor looked bored as she counted the man’s change. Tourists navigated around the massive wings without a second glance.

Jason nudged the Doctor and Nico. “Are you seeing this?”

“Yeah,” Nico agreed. “Maybe we should buy some ice cream.”

“I like your priorities.” The Doctor approved.

They made their way towards the street cart.

“Think he’s son of Boreas?” Jason asked nervously.

The Doctor frowned but didn’t respond. He wasn’t quite sure, himself.

The winged man was wearing a red tank top, Bermuda shorts, and huarache sandals. His wings were a lovely combination of russet colours. He had a deep tan and black hair that curled wildly.

“He’s not a returned spirit,” Nico murmured. “Or a creature of the Underworld.”

“Why would he be?” The Doctor asked, “There are loads of winged creatures.”

Jason nodded. “And if he was, I doubt he’d be eating a chocolate-covered ice cream bar.”

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Nico demanded, sounding somewhat offended.

“Anyone can enjoy chocolate-covered ice cream,” The Doctor agreed, “Even creatures from the depths of Tartarus.”

“So what do you think he is?” Jason asked.

The moment they stepped within ten meters, the winged man looked directly at them. He smiled and gestured over his shoulder with his ice cream bar, then dissolved into the air.

“There,” Jason said, clearly tracking the man through the wind. He pointed towards the end of the promenade, where a large fortress-like structure loomed. “I’m betting that’s the palace. Come on.”

Even after two millenia, Diocletian’s Palace was incredible – at least, by human standards. The outer wall was only a pink granite shell, with crumbling columns and arched windows open to the sky, but it was mostly intact, a half kilometer long and twenty to twenty five meters high, dwarfing the modern shops and houses that huddled beneath it.

The Doctor couldn’t see the winged man, but Jason could apparently feel his influence on the wind, and said, “We’ve got to catch him. Hold on.”

“What –” The Doctor was just about to ask him what he meant when Jason grabbed him and Nico and lifted them both into the air.

Nico made a muffled sound of protest as they soared over the walls and into a courtyard where tourists were milling about, taking photos.

A young boy did a double-take when the three boys landed. Then, his eyes glazed over and he shook his head. No one else paid them any attention.

On the left side of the courtyard, stood a line of columns holding up weathered gray arches. On the right side was a white marble building with rows of tall windows.

“The peristyle,” Nico said. “This was the entrance to Diocletian’s private residence.” He scowled at Jason. “And please, I don’t like being touched. Don’t ever grab me again.”

Jason’s shoulder blades tensed. “Uh, okay. Sorry. How do you know what this place is called?”

Nico scanned the atrium. He focused on some steps in the far corner that led down.

“I’ve been here before.” His eyes went dark. “With my mother and Bianca. A weekend trip from Venice. I was maybe…six?”

“That was in the 1930s, or so, yeah?” The Doctor asked.

“Thirty eight or so,” Nico said absently. “Do either of you see that winged guy anywhere?”

“Nope.” The Doctor studied their surroundings again. “I see nothing.”

“I just…I can’t imagine how weird that must be,” Jason murmured. “Coming from another time, I mean.”

“No, you  _ can’t. _ ” Nico said, before glancing at the Doctor. “I mean, you might. You’re from the…future?”

_ “You’re from the future?” _ Jason gaped. “I – I just thought you were alien. You’re from the future?”

The Doctor shrugged. “Maybe.”

Jason stared at him.  _ “Maybe?” _

“I can’t really remember, to be honest.” The Doctor admitted. “It might be quite soon, actually.”

Nico’s eyes swept the windows above them. “Roman dead are everywhere here…Lares.  _ Lemures.  _ They’re watching. They’re angry.”

“At us?” Jason’s hands immediately flew to his sword.

“At everything.” Nico pointed to a small stone building on the west end of the courtyard. “That used to be a temple to Jupiter. The Christians changed it to a baptistery. The Roman ghosts didn’t like that.”

The Doctor hummed in understanding.

“And over there…” Nico pointed east to a hexagonal building ringed with free-standing columns. “That was the mausoleum of the emperor.”

“But the tomb’s not there anymore.” The Doctor guessed.

“Not for centuries,” Nico said. “When the empire collapsed, the building was turned into a Christian cathedral.”

“So if Diocletian’s ghost is still around here –” Jason gulped.

“He’s probably not all that happy.” The Doctor agreed.

The wind rustled, pushing leaves and food wrappers across the peristyle. In the corner of his eye, the Doctor caught a quick glimpse of movement – a blur of red and gold.

When he spun around, a single rust-coloured feather was settling on the steps that led downwards.

“That way.” Jason pointed. “The winged guy. Where do you think those stairs lead?”

Nico drew his sword and gave an unsettling smile. “Underground,” He said. “My favorite place.”

The Doctor, Jason, and Nico crept through the vast cellar with thick support columns holding up a vaulted ceiling. The limestone blocks were so old, they had fused together from centuries of moisture, making the place look almost like a naturally formed cave.

Despite the Doctor’s glares, Jason drew his sword. They made their way under the low archways, their steps echoing on the stone floor. Barred windows lined the top of one wall, facing the street level.

Jason stopped walking. The Doctor looked at him, he was staring at the marble bust of Diocletian, his limestone face glowering down at them.

“She’ll find it here.” He decided. “It’s away from crowds…She’ll find it.”

The Doctor nodded. “Seems as good a place as any.”

Jason slipped the note between the bust and its pedestal, and stepped back.

“Hello!”

In surprise, as the Doctor and Nico whipped around, Jason accidentally decapitated the emperor’s head. The bust toppled and shattered against the floor.

“That wasn’t very nice.”

The winged man was leaning against a nearby column, casually tossing a small bronze hoop in the air. At his feet sat a wicker picnic basket of fruit.

“I mean,” The man said, “What did Diocletian ever do to you?”

Air swirled around Jason’s feet. The shards of marble gathered into a miniature tornado, spiraled back to the pedestal, and reassembled into a complete bust, the note still tucked underneath.

“Uh –” To the Doctor’s relief, Jason lowered his sword. “It was an accident. You startled me.”

The winged man chuckled. “Jason Grace, the West Wind has been called many things…warm, gentile, life-giving, and devilishly handsome. But I have never been called  _ startling _ . I leave that crass behavior to my gusty brethren in the north.”

Nico inched backwards. “The West Wind? You mean you’re –”

“Zephyros!” The Doctor suddenly cried. “I  _ do  _ know you! You’re the god of the West Wind!”

Zephyros smiled and bowed, obviously pleased to be recognized. “You can call me by my Greek name, certainly, or Favonius, if you’re Roman.” He gave Jason a pointed look. “I’m not hung up about it.”

Nico frowned. “Why aren’t your Greek and Roman sides in conflict, like the other gods?”

“Oh, I have the occasional headache.” Zephyros shrugged. “Some mornings I’ll wake up in a Greek  _ chiton _ when I’m sure I went to sleep in my SPQR pajamas. But mostly the war doesn’t bother me. I’m a minor god, you know – never really been much in the limelight. The to and fro battles among you demigods doesn’t affect me as greatly.”

“So…” Jason said. “What are you doing here?”

“Several things!” Zephyros said. “Hanging out with my basket of fruit. I always carry a basket of fruit. Would you like a pear?”

The Doctor made a face.

Jason sent him a curious look before saying, “I’m good. Thanks.”

“Let’s see…” Zephyros said, spinning the bronze hoop on his index finger. “Earlier I was eating ice cream. Right now I’m tossing this quoit ring.”

“I mean,” Jason said, “Why did you appear to us? Why did you lead us to this cellar?”

“Oh!” Zephyros nodded. “The sarcophagus of Diocletian. Yes. This was its final resting place. The Christians moved it out of the mausoleum. Then some barbarians destroyed the coffin. I just wanted to show you” – he spread his hands sadly – “that what you’re looking for isn’t here. My master has taken it.”

“Your master?” The Doctor asked, his interest peaking, “Who’s your master?”

“Please tell me it’s not Aeolus.” Jason groaned.

_ “That  _ airhead?” Zephyros snorted. “No, of course not.”

“He means Eros.” Nico’s voice turned edgy. “Cupid, in Latin.”

Zephyros smiled. “Very good, Nico di Angelo. I’m glad to see you again, by the way. It’s been a long time.”

Nico knit his eyebrows. “I’ve never met you.”

“You’ve never  _ seen _ me,” Zephyros corrected. “But I’ve been watching you. When you came here as a small boy, and several times since. I knew eventually you would return to look upon my master’s face.”

Nico’s face paled horribly. His eyes darted around the cavernous room claustrophobically.

“Nico?” The Doctor asked carefully. “What’s he mean?”

“I don’t know. Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Zephyros cried. “The one you care for most…plunged into Tartarus, and still you will not allow the truth?”

The Doctor frowned.  _ The one you care for most? _ It hadn’t escaped the Time Lord that there had been a rumor at Camp Half-Blood. A rumor that Nico had a crush on Annabeth…But a simple crush being ‘the one you care for the most?’ No, it ran deeper than that. But Nico with Annabeth? Something about it didn’t feel right. There was something more going on here.

“We’ve only come for Diocletian’s scepter,” Nico said, clearly anxious to change the subject. “Where is it?”

“Ah…” Zephyros nodded sadly. “You thought it would be as easy as facing Diocletian’s ghost? I’m afraid not, Nico. Your trials will be  _ much  _ more difficult. You know, long before this was Diocletian’s Palace, it was the gateway to my master’s court. I’ve dwelt here for eons, bringing those who sought love into the presence of Cupid.”

The Doctor didn’t like the mention of difficult trials. Very often, ‘difficult trials’ were more like ‘excruciatingly painful trials.’

“Like Psyche, Cupid’s wife.” Jason remembered. “You carried her to his palace.”

Zephyros’s eyes twinkled. “Very good, Jason Grace. From this exact spot, I carried Psyche on the winds and brought her to the chambers of my master. In fact, that is why Diocletian built  _ his  _ palace here. This place has always been graced by the gentle West Wind.” He spread his arms. “It is a spot of tranquility and love in the turbulent world. When Diocletian’s Palace was ransacked –”

“You took the scepter.” The Doctor guessed.

“For safekeeping,” Zephyros agreed. “It is one of Cupid’s many treasures, a reminder of better times. If you want it…” Zephyros turned to Nico. “You must face the god of love.”

Nico stared at the sunlight coming through the windows, as if wishing he could escape through the narrow openings.

“Nico, you can do this,” Jason said. “It might be embarrassing, but it’s for the scepter.”

“You don’t have to do this, Nico.” The Doctor glared at Jason. “It’s your choice. If you don’t want to –”

“I can do this.” Nico said, as if trying to pump himself up. “I – I’m not afraid of a love god.”

Zephyros beamed. “Excellent! Would you like a snack before you go?” He plucked a green apple from his basket and frowned at it. “Oh, bluster. I keep forgetting my symbol is a basket of  _ unripe  _ fruit. Why doesn’t the spring wind get more credit? Summer has  _ all  _ the fun.”

“That’s okay,” Nico said quickly. “Just take us to Cupid.”

Zephyros spun the hoop on his finger, and the Doctor dissolved into air.

When one becomes the wind, it feels something like using a vortex manipulator, just longer. A lot longer. There were no boundaries between the body and the world.

The Doctor could sense Nico and Jason’s presences. Zephyros was carrying them into the sky over Split. Together, they raced over the hills, past the Roman aqueducts, highways, and vineyards. As they approached the mountains, the Doctor could see the ruins of a Roman tow spread out in a valley below – crumbling walls, square fountains, and cracked roads, all overgrown with grass.

Zephyros set them down in the midst of the ruins, right beside a broken column about the size of a redwood tree.

The Doctor’s body re-formed.

“Yes, mortal bodies are  _ terribly  _ bulky.” Zephyros complained. He settled on a nearby wall with his basket of fruit and spread his russet wings in the sun. “Honestly, I don’t know how you stand it, day in and day out.”

The Doctor examined his surroundings. The town looked as though it was once massive, but now he could only make out the shells of temples and bathhouses, a half-burned amphitheatre and empty pedestals that once must have held statues. Rows of columns marched off into nowhere. The old walls of the city wove in and out of the hillside.

Some areas looked like they’d been excavated, but most of the city just appeared abandoned, as if it had been weathered away by the elements for the last two thousand years.

“Welcome to Salona,” Zephyros said. “Capital of Dalmatia! Birthplace of Diocletian! But before that,  _ long  _ before that, it was the home of Cupid.”

The name echoed, as if the voices were whispering it through the ruins.

Something about the place was…unnerving. Cupid was not often thought of as frightening…But the Doctor had much experience with love. The bad and the good…As for heartbreak…He had plenty of that.

“I always thought of Cupid as the little winged baby flying around in diapers.” Jason frowned, looking around at the ambiance.

Zephyros sighed.  _ “Everyone  _ has the wrong impression of Cupid…until they meet him.”

Nico braced himself against the column, his legs trembling visibly.

“Nico…” The Doctor tried, but Nico waved him off.

At Nico’s feet, the grass turned brown and wilted. The dead patch spread outwards, as though poison were seeping from the soles of his shoes.

“Ah…” Zephyros nodded sympathetically. “I don’t blame you for being nervous, Nico di Angelo. Do you know how  _ I  _ ended up serving Cupid?”

“I don’t serve anyone,” Nico muttered. “Especially not Cupid.”

“You fell in love with Hyacinthus.” The Doctor remembered. “Both you and Apollo did.”

“Apollo claimed they were just friends.” Zephyros snorted. “How was I to know he liked him too?”

“Him…” Jason frowned. “Oh.”

“Yes, Jason Grace,” Zephyros arched an eyebrow. “I fell in love with a  _ dude _ . Does that shock you?”

“I guess not.” Jason shrugged. “So…Cupid struck you with his arrow, and you fell in love?”

“You make it sound so simple.” Zephyros sighed. “Alas, love is never simple. I loved him long before that. But one day I came across Apollo and Hyacinthus together, playing a game of quoits –”

“Quoits?” Jason asked.

“A game with those hoops,” Nico explained, though his voice was brittle. “Like horseshoes.”

“Sort of,” Zephyros said. 

“You were jealous.” The Doctor said. “But instead of, I dunno,  _ talking  _ to them –”

“I know, I know.” Zephyros sighed. “I shifted the wind and sent a heavy metal ring right at Hyacinthus’s head.”

“You killed him?” Jason gaped.

“As he died,” Zephyros said, “Apollo turned him into a flower, the hyacinth. I’m sure Apollo would’ve taken horrible vengeance on me, but Cupid offered me his protection. I’d done a terrible thing, but I’d been driven mad by love, so he spared me, on the condition that I work for him forever.”

_ CUPID _ .

The name echoed through the ruins again.

“That would be my cue.” Zephyros stood. “Think long and hard about how you proceed, Nico di Angelo. You cannot lie to Cupid. If you let your anger rule you…well, your fate will be even sadder than mine.”

The wind god disappeared in a swirl of red and gold. Nico was trembling. The ground shook, and both demigods drew their swords.

_ “So.” _

The voice rushed past the Doctor’s ear, but when he turned, no one was there.

_ “You come to claim the scepter.” _

“Cupid!” Jason called. “Where are you?”

The voice laughed. His voice was deep and rich, but also threatening and ominous.

_ “Where you least expect me,”  _ Cupid answered.  _ “As Love always is.” _

A force slammed into Jason and sent him flying across the street and toppling down a set of steps and sprawling on the floor of an excavated Roman basement.

_ “I would think you’d know better, Jason Grace.”  _ Cupid’s voice called.  _ “You’ve found true love, after all. Or do you still doubt yourself?” _

The Doctor and Nico hurried down the steps after Jason. “You ‘right?”

Jason accepted the boys’ hands and got to his feet. “Yeah. Just sucker punched.”

_ “Oh, did you expect me to play fair?”  _ Cupid laughed.  _ “I am the god of love. I am  _ never  _ fair.” _

This time, Jason was ready. He somehow managed to sense the arrow flying through the air. Just as it was about to strike Nico in the chest, Jason intercepted it and deflected it sideways. The arrow exploded against the nearest wall, peppering them with limestone shrapnel.

The three boys ran up the steps. Jason pulled Nico and the Doctor to one side as another gust of wind toppled a column that would’ve crushed them flat.

“Is this guy Love or Death?”

_ “Ask your Doctor,”  _ Cupid said.  _ “He met my counterpart, Thanatos. We are not so different. Except Death is sometimes kinder.” _

“We just want the scepter.” The Doctor tried to reason. “We want to stop Gaea. Are we not on the same side?”

A second arrow hit the ground between Nico’s feet and glowed white-hot. Nico stumbled back as the arrow burst into a geyser of flame.

_ “Love is on every side,”  _ Cupid said.  _ “And no one’s side. You know that more than most, Doctor. Don’t ask what Love can do for you.” _

“Great,” Jason said. “Now he’s spouting greeting card messages.”

Jason suddenly spun, slicing his sword through the air. His sword appeared to hit something solid and the Doctor could hear a grunt. Jason tried to swing again, but nothing was there. On the paving stones, a trail of golden ichor shimmered.

_ “Very good, Jason,”  _ Cupid said.  _ “At least you can sense my presence. Even a glancing hit at true love is more than most heroes manage.” _

“So now I get the scepter?” Jason asked hopefully.

Cupid laughed.  _ “Unfortunately, you could not wield it. Only a child of the Underworld can summon the dead legions. And only an officer of Rome can lead them.” _

“But…” Jason wavered. He didn’t seem so sure of his position as a Roman leader anymore.

“Just leave that to us.” He finally decided. “Nico can summon –”

Jason couldn’t stop the next arrow in time. Nico gasped as it sunk into his sword arm.

“Nico!” The Doctor ran to his side.

The son of Hades stumbled. The arrow dissolved, leaving neither blood nor visible wound. But Nico’s face was tight with rage and pain.

“Enough games!” Nico shouted. “Show yourself!”

_ “It is a costly thing,”  _ Cupid said.  _ “Looking on the true face of Love.” _

Another column toppled. The Doctor jumped out of its way.

_ “My wife, Psyche, learned that lesson,”  _ Cupid said.  _ “She was brought here eons ago, when this was the site of my palace. We met only in the dark. She was warned never to look upon me, and yet she could not stand the mystery. She feared I was a monster. One night, she lit a candle, and beheld my face as I slept.” _

“Were you  _ that  _ ugly?” Jason asked.

The god laughed.  _ “I was too handsome, I’m afraid. A mortal cannot gaze upon the true appearance of a god without suffering consequences. My mother, Aphrodite, cursed Psyche for her distrust. My poor lover was tormented, forced into exile, given horrible tasks to prove her worth. She was even sent to the Underworld on a quest to show her dedication. She earned her way back to my side, but she suffered greatly.” _

Jason thrust his sword into the sky and thunder shook the valley. Lightning blasted a crater from about the spot the voice had been speaking.

Silence.

Then, an invisible force knocked both Jason and the Doctor to the ground, Jason’s sword skittering across the road.

_ “A good try,”  _ Cupid said, his voice already distant again.  _ “But Love cannot be pinned down so easily.” _

Next to Jason and the Doctor, a wall collapsed. It would’ve crushed Jason had the Doctor not pulled him aside just in time.

“Stop it!” Nico yelled. “It’s me you want. Leave him alone!”

_ “Poor Nico di Angelo.”  _ The god’s voice was tinged with disappointment.  _ “Do you know what  _ you  _ want, much less what I want/ My beloved Psyche risked everything in the name of Love. It was the only way to atone for her lack of faith. And you – what have you risked in my name?” _

“I’ve been to Tartarus and back,” Nico snarled. “You don’t scare me.”

_ “I scare you very, very much. Face me. Be honest.” _

All around Nico, the ground shifted. The grass withered, and the stones cracked.

“Give us Diocletian’s scepter,” Nico demanded. “We don’t have time for games.”

_ “Games?”  _ Cupid struck, slapping Nico sideways into a granite pedestal.  _ “Love is no game! It is no flowery softness! It is hard work – a quest that never ends. It demands everything from you – especially the truth. Only then does it yield rewards.” _

Jason retrieved his sword. “Nico,” He called, “What does this guy  _ want  _ from you?”

The Doctor had an idea…But he wasn’t quite sure yet.

_ “Tell them, Nico di Angelo,”  _ Cupid said.  _ “Tell them you are a coward, afraid of yourself and your feelings. Tell him the real reason you ran from Camp Half-Blood, and why you are always alone.” _

Nico let loose a guttural scream. The ground at his feet split open and skeletons crawled forth – dead Romans with missing hands and caved-in skulls, cracked ribs, and jaws unhinged. Some were dressed in the remnants of togas. Others had glinting pieces of armor hanging off their chests.

_ “Will you hide among the dead, as you always do?”  _ Cupid taunted.

Waves of darkness rolled off the son of Hades. When they hit the Doctor, he was overwhelmed by feelings of hated. Feelings of fear. And…shame?

Images flashed through his mind. He saw Nico and Bianca on the snowy cliff in Maine, Percy Jackson was protecting them from the manticore. Percy’s sword gleamed in the dark. He’d been the first demigod Nico had ever seen in action. Behind them, blurred figures fought as well. The figures of the Doctor, Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover, but it seemed that Percy was the only one Nico had really seen. Or really paid attention to.

Then, it showed the Doctor and Percy, refusing to let him join the quest, instead taking Percy. The Doctor could understand how the boy could have seen it like that…Like had they let him join, perhaps he could have protected his sister…

Then, he saw the moment the questers had returned. They returned with Percy and without Bianca.

Despite his anger at the Doctor, he seemed to fixate on Percy.

He ran away.

It showed Percy searching for him in the forest with Annabeth, Grover, and the Doctor. Emotions of pain, fear, regret, and anger swirled around, as well ask…longing. Nico had been watching them. He had seen them searching. He had wanted to run towards Percy, but that anger and hatred burned. Yet, despite seeing them, he didn’t hurt them.

The Doctor saw a dozen more scenes like this. Meanwhile, Nico’s Roman skeletons surged forth and grappled with something invisible. The god struggled, flinging the dead aside, breaking off ribs and skulls, but the skeletons kept coming, pinning the god’s arms.

_ “Interesting!”  _ Cupid said.  _ “Do you have the strength after all?” _

“I left Camp Half-Blood because of love,” Nico said. “Annabeth…she –”

_ “Still hiding,”  _ Cupid said, smashing another skeleton to pieces.  _ “You do not have the strength.” _

“Nico,” The Doctor called out. “It’s all right. I understand –”

Nico glanced over, pain and misery washing across his face.

“No, you don’t,” He said. “There’s no way you can understand.”

_ “And so you run away, again,”  _ Cupid chided.  _ “From your friends, from yourself.” _

“I don’t have friends!” Nico yelled. “I left Camp Half-Blood because I don’t belong! I’ll never belong!”

The skeletons had Cupid pinned now, but the invisible god laughed cruelly.

“STOP!” The Doctor shouted. 

Everything froze, even Nico’s skeletons.

“I  _ do  _ understand.” The Doctor promised. “You loved Percy. And that’s all right. I loved –” The words died on his lips. “My friend, Koschei. He –” He choked.

Nico stared at him.

“You…?”

“Yes.” The Doctor nodded.

“You had a…?”

“Yes.”

Nico ran into the Doctor’s arms, pressing his wet face into the Time Lord’s trenchcoat.

The Doctor lowered to the ground on his knees as the boy crumpled.

Finally, Nico said up and looked at the god. “I was in love with Percy.” He said. “That’s the truth. That’s the big secret. Happy now?”

Eros became visible. He was a lean, muscular young man with snowy white wings, straight black hair, and a simple white frock and jeans. The bow and quiver slung over his shoulder were massive and sharp – weapons of war. His eyes were red as blood. His face was handsome, but harsh. He looked at Nico with sympathy. 

“Oh, I wouldn’t say Love always makes you happy.” He said. “Sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you’ve  _ faced  _ it now. That’s the only way to conquer me.”

Cupid dissolved into the wind.

On the ground where he’d stood lay an ivory staff about a meter in length, topped with a dark globe of polished marble nestled on the backs of three gold Roman eagles. The scepter of Diocletian.

The Doctor helped Nico to his feet and they walked together to the scepter. As he retrieved it, he looked back at the Doctor and Jason.

“If the others found out –”

“You’d have that many more people to support you, Nico.” The Doctor promised.

“Yeah, and unleash the fury of the gods on anybody who gives you trouble.” Jason added.

“But it will be your choice if or when you tell them.” The Doctor nodded. “That is your decision, and no one elses’s.”

“I don’t feel that way anymore.” Nico said. “I mean, I gave up on Percy. I was young and impressionable, and I – I don’t…”

His voice cracked.

“Nico,” Jason said, “I’ve seen a lot of brave things. But what you just did?” He shook his head. “That was maybe the bravest.”

Nico looked up uncertainly. “We should get back to the ship.”

“Yeah.” Jason agreed. “I can fly us –”

“No,” Nico announced. “This time we’re shadow-traveling. I’ve had enough of the winds for a while.”

The Doctor had to agree.


	11. The Goddess of Snow

The Mediterranean was not supposed to freeze in July. This was a fact that the Doctor was 78% sure of.

Two days out to sea from Split, gray clouds swallowed the sky. The waves became choppy. Cold drizzle sprayed across the deck, forming ice on the rails and the ropes.

“It’s the scepter,” Nico murmured, hefting the ancient staff. “It has to be.”

The Doctor and Nico had gotten much closer in the past couple days. The Doctor told him about…well, he didn’t really talk much about the Master. Nico asked him a couple of times, but the Doctor made it pretty clear that he didn’t want to speak of him. Though, the Doctor did promise to introduce him to Captain Jack Harkness. If there was anyone who could make Nico feel comfortable with his sexuality, it was him.

It made sense that the scepter may have caused this weather change. The black orb on the top appeared to leach the colour right from the air. The golden eagles at its base glinted coldly. The scepter supposedly could control the dead, and it most definitely emanated such vibes. Coach Hedge had taken one look at it, turned pale, and announced that he was going to his room to console himself with Chuck Norris videos.

“We can’t talk up here,” Jason decided, looking out at the ice storm. “Let’s postpone the meeting.”

They’d all gathered on the quarterdeck to discuss their strategy as they got closer to Epirus, but now it was very clear that this was not the best place to talk. Wind swept frost across the deck. The sea churned beneath them.

The Doctor didn’t mind the waves all that much, but Hazel was looking incredibly ill. 

“Need to –” Hazel gagged and pointed below.

“Yeah, go.” Nico kissed her cheek, which was surprising since Nico rarely initiated physical contact.

“I’ll walk you down.” Frank put his arm around Hazel’s waist and assisted her down the stairs.

Nico brushed some ice from his hair. He frowned at the scepter of Diocletian. “I should put this thing away. If it’s really causing the weather, maybe taking it below deck will help…”

“Sounds brilliant.” The Doctor agreed.

Nico glanced nervously at Jason, as if nervous of what he would say when he was gone. The Doctor gave him a reassuring look, and he smiled and headed below.

Leo pulled a screwdriver from his toolbelt. “So much for the big team meeting. Looks like it’s just us again.”

The Doctor remembered a wintry day in Chicago when the three of them had landed in Millennial Park. Leo’d not changed all that much since then, though he seemed much more comfortable in his role as a child of Hephaestus. He now knew how to channel his nervous energy into everything he did. His hands were a constant whirr of motion, pulling tools from his belt, working controls, tinkering with the Archimedes sphere. Today he’d removed it from the control panel and shut down Festus for maintenance.

As for Jason, he looked thinner, taller, more careworn. His hair which was once a close-cropped Roman style, was now longer and shaggier. The groove Sciron had shot across the left side of his scalp now looked like a rebel mark.

Piper was older, sadder. She still had that spark of life that the Doctor so admired in his companions, but he could feel the sadness growing within. She was fiercer now, much more bold, much more…self-sacrificial. Not to the Doctor’s extent, not by a longshot, but enough to worry him. It made him wonder if he was doing the right thing, staying around these demigods for so long…

He gazed back into the cold rain. “When abouts do you think we’ll be in Epirus, Leo?”

“Oh, uh, by tomorrow morning, we’ll reach the western coast of Greece.” Leo reported. “Then another hour inland, and bang – the House of Hades! I’ma get me the T-shirt!”

“Good, good.” The Doctor said, tapping the railing anxiously.

“Guys,” Piper said. “I’ve been thinking about the Prophecy of Seven.”

The Doctor looked over at her warily.

“What about it?” Leo asked. “Like…good stuff, I hope?”

Piper readjusted the cornucopia’s shoulder strap. 

“In Katoptris,” She started, “I keep seeing that giant Clytius – the guy who’s wrapped in shadows. I know his weakness is fire, but in my visions, he snuffs out flames wherever he goes. Any kind of light just gets sucked into his cloud of darkness.”

“Sounds like Nico,” Leo said. “You think they’re related?”

The Doctor was about to tell Leo to leave the boy alone, but to his surprise, Jason beat him to it.

“Hey, man, cut Nico some slack.”

“So, Piper,” The Doctor cut in, “What about Clytius? What are you thinking?”

Piper and Leo exchanged a quizzical look, but neither commented.

“I keep thinking about fire,” Piper said. “How we expect Leo to beat this giant because he’s…”

“Hot?” Leo suggested with a grin.

“Um, let’s go with _flammable._ ” Piper said. “Anyway, that line from the prophecy bothers me: _To storm or fire the world must fall_.”

“Yeah, we know all about it,” Leo promised. “You’re gonna say I’m fire. And Jason here is storm.”

Piper nodded reluctantly.

The ship pitched towards the starboard side. Jason grabbed the icy railing. “So you’re worried one of us will endanger the quest, maybe accidentally destroy the world?”

“No,” Piper said. “I think we’ve been reading that line the wrong way. The _world_ …the Earth. In Greek, the word for that would be…”

She hesitated, not wanting to say the name aloud, even at sea.

“Gaea.” The Doctor murmured.

Jason’s eyes gleamed with sudden interest. “You mean, _“to storm or fire Gaea must fall?”_

“Oh…” Leo grinned weirder. “You know, I like your version a lot better. ‘Cause if Gaea falls to me, Mr. Fire, that is absolutely copacetic.”

“Or to me…storm.” Jason kissed his girlfriend. “Piper, that’s brilliant! If you’re right, this is great news. We just have to figure out which of us destroys Gaea.”

“Maybe.” Piper said uneasily. “But, see, it’s storm _or_ fire…”

“You think only one of them can succeed.” The Doctor realized. “Storm _or_ fire.”

“And if the _storm or fire_ part is connected to the third line, _an oath to keep with a final breath…”_

Piper didn’t finish the thought, but she didn’t need to. They all knew what she meant. If she was reading the prophecy right, either Leo or Jason would defeat Gaea, and the other would die.

“Okay…” Leo said. “So I don’t like your idea as much as I thought. You think one of us defeats Gaea and the other one dies? Or maybe one of us dies _while_ defeating ? Or –”

“Guys,” Jason said, “We’ll drive ourselves crazy overthinking it. You know how prophecies are. Heroes always get in trouble trying to thwart them.”

“Yeah,” Leo muttered. “We’d _hate_ to get in trouble. We’ve got it so good right now.”

“You know what I mean,” Jason said. “The _final breath_ line might not be connected to the _storm and fire_ part. For all we know, the two of us aren’t even storm and fire. Percy can raise hurricanes.”

“And I could always set Coach Hedge on fire,” Leo volunteered. “Then _he_ can be fine.”

Piper laughed. “I hope I’m wrong,” She said cautiously. “But the whole quest started with us finding Hera and waking that giant king Porphyrion. I have a feeling the war will end with us too. For better or worse.”

“Hey,” Jason said, “Personally, I _like_ us.”

“Agreed,” Leo said. _“Us_ is my favorite people.”

The Doctor had remained mostly silent throughout. He didn’t want to agree with Piper, but he found himself nodding. There was, of course, the possibility that the prophecy meant something else…

“The Oncoming Storm…” He murmured.

“What?” Jason, Leo, and Piper turned to him.

“That’s what you called yourself,” Piper remembered. “When Dylan the storm spirit struck Jason down with lightning…When we thought he was dead.”

“Wait, what?” Leo asked.

“You were still in the canyon.” Piper said. 

“It’s what I’m called in the ancient legends of the Dalek Homeworld.” The Doctor murmured. “There’s every possibility that _storm_ could be me.”

There was a long silence.

“What’s the Dalek Homeworld?” Leo asked nervously. “Do you think Gaea –”

“You don’t have to worry about the Daleks.” The Doctor said. And he certainly _hoped_ he was right.

Suddenly, Piper’s entire body tensed. “Leo, sound the alarm.”

“What?” The Doctor and Jason said, but Piper had been charmspeaking, and Leo immediately dropped his screwdriver and punched the alarm button. He frowned when nothing happened.

“Uh, it’s disconnected,” He remembered. “Festus is shut down. Gimme a minute to get the system back online.”

“We don’t have a minute!” Piper cried. “Fires – we need vials of Greek fire. Jason, call the winds. Warm, southerly winds.”

“Wait, what?” Jason stared at her in confusion. “Piper, what’s wrong?”

“It’s her!” piper snatched up her dagger. “She’s back! We have to –”

Before she could finish, the boat listed to port. The temperature dropped so quickly that the sails cracked with ice.

Jason drew his sword, but it was too late. A wave of ice particles swept over him, coating him with ice and freezing him in place. Under a layer of ice, his eyes were wide with amazement. 

“Leo! Flames! Now!” Piper yelled.

Leo’s hands blazed, but the wind swirled around him and doused the fire. Leo clutched his Archimedes sphere as a funnel cloud of sleet lifted him off his feet.

“Hey!” He yelled. “Hey! Let me go!”

The Doctor ran towards him, Piper at his heels, but the voice in the storm said, “Oh, yes, Leo Valdez. I will let you go _permanently.”_

The Doctor stared at the storm. He _knew_ that voice.

Leo shot skyward and he disappeared into the clouds.

“No!” The Doctor raised his sonic, but he too was blasted ice and found himself frozen to the spot, leaving only Piper.

The Doctor glanced to the stairwell, hopefully his mates would come running to assist them, but a block of ice had sealed the hatch. The entire lower deck may have been frozen solid.

Then, standing amidships, was a girl in a flowing dress of white silk, her mane of black hair pinned back with a circlet of diamonds. Her eyes were the colour of coffee, but were without warmth.

Behind her stood her brothers – two young men with purple-feathered wings, stark white hair, and jagged swords of Celestial bronze.

 _“So good to see you again, ma chére,” _said Khione. “It’s time we have a very cold reunion.”


	12. Piper's Secret Power

The Doctor had to admit, he didn’t expect half a dozen blueberry muffins to shoot at the goddess. But it seemed the cornucopia had sensed Piper’s distress and fired at Khione.

But Khione simply leaned to one side. Most of the muffins sailed past her over the rail. Her brothers, the Boreads, each caught one and began to eat.

“Muffins,” said the larger one – Calais, or Cal for short. He was dressed exactly as he had been in Quebec – cleats, joggers, and a red hockey jersey – and had two black eyes and several broken teeth. “Muffins are good.”

“Ah,  _ merci,”  _ said the other, more scrawny brother – Zethes – who stood on the catapult platform, his purple wings spread. His white hair was still feathered in a mullet. The collar of his silk shirt stuck out over his breastplate. His chartreuse polyester trousers were almost concerningly tight. He wriggled his eyebrows and smiled at Piper.

“I knew the pretty girl would miss me.” He was speaking French now which, fortunately, the Doctor knew Piper could translate.

“What are you doing?” Piper demanded, then, in charmspeak: “Let my friends go.”

Zethes blinked. “We should let your friends go.”

“Yes,” Cal agreed.”

“No, you idiots!” Khione snapped. “She is charmspeaking. Use your wits.”

“Wits…” Cal frowned, as if he wasn’t sure what wits were. “Muffins are better.”

He stuffed the whole thing in his mouth and began to chew.

Zethes picked a blueberry off the top of his and nibbled it delicately. “Ah, my beautiful Piper…so long I have waited to see you again. Sadly, my sister is right. We cannot let your friends go. In fact we must take them to Quebec, where they shall be laughed at eternally. I am so sorry, but these are our orders.”

“Orders…?” Piper asked tentatively.

The Doctor could understand why Khione was here. When they’d defeated her in the Wolf House in Sonoma, the snow goddess had vowed revenge. But why Zethes and Cal were here…He wasn’t sure.

“Guys, listen,” Piper said, seeming to pick up on this as well. “Your sister disobeyed Boreas. She’s working with the giants, trying to raise Gaea. She’s planning to take over your father’s throne.”

Khione laughed, soft and cold. “Dear Piper McLean. You would manipulate my weak-willed brothers with your charms, like a true daughter of the love goddess. Such a skillful lair.”

_ “Liar?”  _ Piper cried. “You tried to kill us! Zethes, she’s working for Gaea!”

Zethes winced. “Alas, beautiful girl. We all are working for Gaea now. I fear these orders are from our father, Boreas himself.”

“What?” Had the Doctor not been frozen, he would have said this himself. And from the look of smugness on Khione’s face, this looked to be true.

“At last my father saw the wisdom of my counsel,” Khione purred, “Or at least he  _ did  _ before his Roman side began warring with his Greek side. I fear he is quite incapacitated now, but he left me in charge. He has ordered that the forces of the North Wind be used in the service of King Porphyrion, and of course…the Earth Mother.”

Piper gulped. “How are you even here?” She gestured at the ice all over the ship. “It’s summer!”

Khione shrugged. “Our powers grow. The rules of nature are turned upside down. Once the Earth Mother wakes, we shall remake the world as we choose!”

“With hockey,” Cal said, his mouth still full. “And pizza. And muffins.”

“Yes, yes,” Khione sneered. “I had to promise a few things to the big simpleton. And to Zethes –”

“Oh, my needs are simple.” Zethes slicked back his hair and winked at Piper. “I should have kept you at our palace when we first met, my dear Piper. But soon we will go there again, together, and I shall romance you most incredibly.”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Piper said. “Now,  _ let Jason go.” _

She put so much power into the words that Zethes obeyed. He snapped his fingers and Jason immediately defrosted, crumpling to the floor, gasping and screaming, but alive.

The Doctor glared at Piper as if to say:  _ And the Doctor. How about ‘let the Doctor go too?’ _

“You imbecile!” Khione thrust out her hand, and Jason refroze, now flat on the deck. She wheeled on Zethes. “If you wish the girl as your prize, you must prove you can control her. Not the other way around!”

“Yes, of course.” Zethes looked chagrined.

“As for Jason Grace…” Khione’s bronze eyes gleamed. “He and the rest of your friends will join our court of ice statues in Quebec. Jason will  _ grace  _ my throne room.”

“Clever,” Piper muttered. “Take you all day to think up that line?”

Khione looked at Piper sourly, but didn’t dignify her with a response.

“What about Leo?” Piper demanded. “Where did you send him?”

The snow goddess stepped lightly over Jason and towards the Doctor. Examining him like a sculpture in a museum.

“Leo Valdez deserved a special punishment,” She said. “I have sent him to a place from which he can never return.”

Piper stared at her in horror.

“Alas, my dear Piper!” Khione smiled in triumph. “But it is for the best. Leo could not be tolerated, even as an ice statue…Not after he insulted me. The fool refused to rule at my side! And his power over fire…” She shook her head. “He could not be allowed to reach the House of Hades. I’m afraid Lord Clytius likes fire even less than I do.”

The Doctor could see Piper’s eyes scanning the deck. They finally landed on the prow. Her eyes sparked. She had an idea.

“Well!” Khione said. “I fear our time together is at a close. Zethes, if you would –”

“Wait!” Piper cried.

The command worked. The Boreads and Khione frowned at Piper, waiting.

“You’re afraid of my friends,” She said. “So why not just kill them?”

Khione laughed. “You are not a god, or you would understand. Death is so short, so…unsatisfying. Your puny mortal souls flit off to the Underworld, and what happens then? The  _ best  _ I can hope for is that you go to the Fields of punishment or Asphodel, but you demigods are insufferably noble. More likely you will go to Elysium – or get reborn in a new life. Why would I want to reward your friends that way? Why…when I can punish them eternally?”

“And me?” Piper asked. “Why am I still alive and unfrozen?”

Khione glanced at her brothers with annoyance. “Zethes has claimed you, for one thing.”

“I kiss magnificently,” Zethes promised. “You will see, beautiful one.”

“But that is not the only reason,” Khione said. “It is because I  _ hate  _ you, Piper. Deeply and truly. Without you, Jason would have stayed with me in Quebec.”

“Delusional, much?”

Khione’s eyes turned furious. “You are a meddler, the daughter of a useless goddess. What can you do alone? Nothing. Of all the seven demigods, you have no purpose, no power. I wish you to stay on this ship, adrift and helpless, while Gaea raises and the world ends. And just to be sure you are well out of the way…”

She gestured to Zethes, who plucked a frozen sphere covered in icy spikes from the air.

“A bomb,” Zethes explained, “especially for you, my love.”

“Bombs!” Cal laughed. “A good day! Bombs and mufflins!”

“Uh…” Piper lowered her dagger. “Flowers would’ve been fine.”

“Oh, it will not kill the pretty girl.” Zethes frowned. “Well…I am  _ fairly  _ sure of this. But when the fragile container cracks, in…ah, roughly not very long…it will unleash the full force of the northern winds. The ship will be blown very far off course. Very, very far.”

“Indeed.” Khione’s voice prickled with false sympathy. “We will take your friends for our statue collection, then unleash the winds and bid you goodbye! You can watch the end of the world from…well, the end of the world! Perhaps you can charmspeak the fish and feed yourself with your silly cornucopia. You can pace the deck of this empty ship and watch our victory in the blade of your dagger. When Gaea has arisen and the world you know is dead,  _ then  _ Zethes can come back and retrieve you for his bride. What will you do to stop us, Piper? A hero? Ha! You are a joke.”

Piper took a deep breath, looking upon Khione boldly, then doubled over, giggling and snorting.

Cal joined in, until Zethes elbowed him.

Khione’s smile wavered. “What? What is so funny? I have doomed you!”

“Doomed me!” Piper laughed again. “Oh, gods…sorry.” She took a shaky breath and tried to stop giggling. “Oh boy…okay. You really think I’m powerless? You  _ really  _ think I’m useless? Oh, gods of Olympus, your brain must have freezer burn. You don’t know my secret, do you?”

Khione’s eyes narrowed.

“You have no secret,” She said. “You are lying.”

“Okay, whatever,” Piper said. “Yeah, go ahead and take my friends. Leave me here… _ useless _ .” She snorted. “Yeah. Gaea will be  _ really  _ pleased with you.”

Snow swirled around the goddess. Zethes and Calais glanced at each other nervously.

“Sister,” Zethes said, “If she really has some secret –”

“Pizza?” Cal speculated. “Hockey?”

“– then we must know,” Zethes continued.

Khione very obviously didn’t buy it, but Piper was fighting to keep her face straight, her eyes dancing with mischief and humor as if to say:  _ Go ahead, call my bluff. _

“What secret?” Khione demanded. “Reveal it to us!”

Piper shrugged. “Suit yourself, though, you might want to unfreeze the Doctor.”

“And why would I do that?” Khione demanded.

“He’s just opposed to violence and is perhaps the only thing that’ll keep me from killing you. But if you don’t want to,” She smirked. “I’ve got no problem with that.”

“Fine.” Khione snapped. She clicked her fingers and the Doctor dropped to the ground.

“Brilliant,” He grinned, jumping to his feet. “Lead the way, Piper.”

Piper led the Doctor, Zethes, Calais, and Khione towards the prow. The Doctor hurried to Piper’s side. “No chance you’ve got a plan, do you?”

She grinned. “For once, I actually do.”

Her eyes gestured towards Festus. The Doctor grinned.

“Can you turn Festus back on while I distract them?”

“I’m on it.”

They finally stopped at the prow. Piper spun around to face Khione. “Wow, I just realized why you hate us so much,” Her voice was filled with pity. “We humiliated you pretty badly in Sonoma.”

Khione’s eyes glinted with fury. Piper had her attention.

The Doctor slipped away and began flipping switches and turning dials. Booting Festus back up.

Piper was laughing. “Oh, you didn’t tell them! I don’t blame you. You had a giant king on your side, plan an army of wolves and Earthborn, and you still couldn’t beat us.”

“Silence!” The goddess hissed.

The air turned misty.

“Whatever.” The Doctor could see her winking at Zethes from the corner of his eye. “But it  _ was  _ pretty funny.”

“The beautiful girl must be lying,” Zethes said. “Khione was not  _ beaten  _ at the Wolf House. She said it was a…ah, what is the term? A tactical retreat.”

“Treats?” Cal asked. “Treats are good.”

“No, Cal. He means your sister ran away.”

Oh, Piper, she was brilliant. The Doctor grinned as he worked.

“I did not!” Khione shrieked.

“What did Hera call you?” Piper mused. “Right – a D-list goddess!”

She burst out laughing, as did Zethes and Cal.

“That is  _ trés bon!”  _ Zethes said. “A D-list goddess. Ha!”

“Ha!” Cal agreed. “Sister ran away! Ha!”

The Doctor could see Khione’s white dress beginning to steam. Ice formed over Zethes’s and Cal’s mouths, plugging them up.

“Show us this secret of yours, Piper McLean,” Khione growled. “Then  _ pray  _ I leave you on this ship intact. If you are toying with us, I will show you the horrors of frostbite. And  _ what are you doing?” _

She spun around to look at the Doctor, who jumped to his feet. 

“Hmm? Nothing. Just making sure Piper doesn’t kill anyone. Very serious job. There’s been a few close calls –”

Khione narrowed her eyes. She waved her hand and refroze the Doctor. 

“Hey!” Piper called. “How –”

“You have no power.” Khione insisted.

“Spoken like a D-list goddess,” Piper said. “One who never gets taken seriously, who  _ always  _ wants more power.”

The Doctor glanced at Piper. Festus was booting up. If he’d had more time, he could have sped it up…

The Doctor met Piper’s eye, then glanced towards the bomb in Zethes’s hands.

Somehow, Piper managed to understand.

“She doesn’t value you, you know.” Piper said to Zethes and Cal. “She thinks she can boss you around because you’re demigods, not full-fledged gods. She doesn't understand that you’re a powerful team.”

“A team,” Cal grunted. “Like the Ca-na-di-ens.”

He struggled with the word since it was more than two syllables. He grinned, looking very pleased with himself.

“Exactly,” Piper said. “Just like a hockey team. The whole is greater than its parts.”

“Like pizza.” Cal added.

Piper laughed. “You  _ are  _ smart, Cal! Even I underestimated you.”

“Wait, now,” Zethes protested. “I am smart also. And good-looking.”

“Very smart,” Piper agreed, ignoring the  _ good-looking  _ bit. “So put down the wind bomb, and watch Khione get humiliated.”

Zethes grinned. He crouched and rolled the ice sphere across the deck.

“You fool!” Khione yelled. “Never mind our plan! Kill her!”

Zethes and Cal moved forwards reluctantly, their swords raised, but neither looking too keen to attack, but just then, Festus turned his head one hundred and eighty degrees and blasted the Boreads, vaporizing them on the spot. For some strange reason, Zethes’s sword was spared. It clunked to the deck, still steaming.

Piper scrambled to her feet, then ran for the sphere on the foremast. But before she could get close, Khione materialized in front of her in a swirl of frost. Her skin was glowing violently.

“You  _ miserable _ girl,” She hissed. “You think you can defeat me –  _ a goddess?” _

Festus roared and blew steam, but the Doctor was aware that he couldn’t breathe fire again without hitting Piper as well.

But the Doctor, thanks to the heat emanating off of Festus, was beginning to melt.

About six meters behind the goddess, the ice sphere began to crack and hiss.

The Doctor managed to pull his right arm from the ice.

Piper yelled and raised her dagger, charging the goddess, but Khione grabbed Piper’s arm and ice spread down to her blade.

The goddess grinned. “A child of Aphrodite.” She chided. “You are  _ nothing _ .”

The ice on his right side had now melted, but the left side of the Doctor’s body was still trapped in the ice.

But Piper’s eyes burned with determination, and the ice began to melt from her knife.

“Still underestimating me,” Piper told the goddess. “You really need to work on that.”

Khione’s smug expression faltered and Piper drove her dagger straight down.

The blade touched Khione’s chest, and the goddess exploded into a miniature blizzard.

The ice disappeared from the Doctor, and he sprinted over to the sphere, his fingers closing around the bomb just as the ice shattered and the winds exploded.


	13. The Lord of the South Wind

The wind bomb hadn’t been as…explosive as the Doctor had expected. He’d managed to contain it somewhat, and they’d found themselves halfway across the Mediterranean.

Jason was waiting for his daily audience with the lord of the South Wind, leaning on the balcony. Sometimes he would appear in his Roman form: Notus, and other times in his Greek: Auster. The Doctor wasn’t quite sure which of his personalities were worse, but there was one thing he was certain of: After five days in the palace, the crew were unlikely to get out alive.

The palace stretched out on either side of them – a honeycomb of halls and tunnel, balconies, colonnades, and cavernous rooms carved into the sandstone cliffs, all designed for the wind to blow through and make as much noise as possible. The constant pipe-organ made the palace feel much like the lair of Aeolus, though here, the winds seemed in no hurry.

That was part of the problem.

On their best days, the southern wind spirits were slow and on the lazy side. On their worst days, they were gusty and angry. They’d initially welcomed the  _ Argo II _ , since any enemy of Boreas was a friend of the South Wind, but they seemed to have forgotten that, as they had quickly lost interest in helping repair the ship, and their king’s mood got worse every day.

Down at the dock, the Doctor and the rest of the crew were working on the  _ Argo II _ . The Doctor took care of all the mechanical stuff, but the others worked on repairing the main sail and replace the rigging.

The Doctor felt someone grab his arm and suddenly he was over near Jason, Nico at his side.

“Any word from the king?” Nico asked.

Jason shook his head. “Every day, he calls for me later and later.”

“We need to leave,” Nico said. “Soon.”

The Doctor looked nervously at Nico. “You sense something?”

“Percy is close to the Doors,” Nico said. “He’ll need us if he’s going to make it through alive.”

The Doctor noticed he didn’t mention Annabeth. No one dared bring it up.

“All right,” Jason said. “But if we can’t repair the ship –”

“We can,” The Doctor promised. “Just Leo…There’s a lot he did to make it so he was the only one who could make the ship go.”

Leo had never returned to the ship. He’d either gone wherever Khione had sent him or…

No. Leo was somewhere. They just had to find out where.

“I promised I’d lead you to the House of Hades,” Nico said. “One way or another, I will.”

“You can’t shadow-travel with all of us.” The Doctor said.

“And it  _ will  _ take all of us to reach the Doors of Death.” Jason agreed.

The orb at the end of Diocletian’s scepter glowed purple. Over the past week, it seemed to align itself to Nico’s moods.

“Then you’ve  _ got  _ to convince the king of the South Wind to help.” Nico’s voice seethed with anger. “I didn’t come all this way, suffer so many humiliations…”

“Look, Nico,” Jason said. “Both the Doctor and I are here if you want to talk about, you know, what happened in Croatia. I get how difficult –”

“You don’t get anything.” Nico snarled.

The Doctor placed a hand on Nico’s shoulder. He was one of few people who could do that without the boy recoiling. He glanced at Jason, to tell him to stop, but the son of Jupiter didn’t seem to quite get the message.

“Nobody’s going to judge you.” He tried again.

Nico’s mouth twisted into a sneer. “Really? That would be a first. I’m the son of  _ Hades,  _ Jason. I might as well be covered in blood or sewage, the way people treat me. I don’t belong anywhere. I’m not even from this century. But even that’s not enough to set me apart. I’ve got to be – to be –”

“Incredible?” The Doctor suggested. “Brilliant? Fantastic? Unique? Better than all those silly little apes who treat you otherwise?”

Nico would never admit it, but tears welled in his eyes and a smile bit across his face. His hand clenched harder against the Doctor’s. 

That action on its own almost made the Doctor cry.

It reminded him of his own children, when they were afraid and how they’d cling to him. Nico was doing the same thing. He was scared and the Doctor was the only one he felt could keep him safe.

He knelt down, just as he’d always down with his own children. “Nico, you don’t choose who you’re born to. You don’t choose the century you’re born in. You don’t choose who you love. And that’s okay. Because none of those things define who you are. They are a part of you, yes, but they are  _ not  _ who you are.”

“But – But I don’t belong here.” Nico murmured. “I didn’t belong at Camp Half-Blood, and I didn’t belong at Camp Jupiter so…So where  _ do  _ I belong?”

“You could – you could come with me in the TARDIS,” The Doctor suggested tentatively. “I could show you the stars.” 

Nico smiled softly. “Maybe.” He straightened himself up. “But first we’ve got to close the Doors of Death.”

“Right.” The Doctor grinned. There was a chance that after this all ended…that he might not be alone.

It was then that a disembodied voice said:  _ “Lord Auster will see you now.” _

“Let me talk to him.” The Doctor insisted for the millionth time.

“He told me he would only talk to me.” Jason reminded him.

“What other options do we have at this point?”

Jason hesitated. “Fine.”

“See you on the other side.” The Doctor said to Nico, who reluctantly let go of the Time Lord and waved silently as he sunk back into the shadows.

The Doctor grinned at Jason. “Allons-y!”

Jason sighed. “I really hope you don't get us killed.”

Auster, the Roman version of the South Wind, was holding court.

Jason had informed the Doctor that the previous two days, Notus had been in charge. Whilst the Greek version was fiery and quick to anger, Auster was…not.

White and red marble columns lined the throne room. The rough sandstone floor smoked under the boys’ shoes. Steam hung in the air and thunderstorms crackled across the ceiling, lighting the room in disorienting flashes.

Southern storm spirits swirled through the hall in clouds of red dust and superheated air. The Doctor was careful to avoid them. Apparently, on his first day here, Jason had accidentally brushed his hand through one and had to nurse hundreds of blisters for days.

At the end of the room was a throne made of equal parts fire and water. The dais was a bonfire. Flames and smoke curled up to form a seat. The back of the chair was a churning storm cloud. The armrests sizzled where moisture met fire. It didn’t look all that comfortable, but the god Auster lounged on it without problem.

Standing up, he would’ve been about ten feet tall. A crown of steam wreathed his shaggy white hair. His beard was made of clouds, constantly popping with lightning and raining down on the god’s chest, soaking his sand-coloured toga.

“So…” The god’s voice rumbled. “The son of Jupiter returns. And…”

He squinted at the Doctor.

“I’m the Doctor.” The Doctor waved.

“Uh…okay.”

From what Jason had told him, if it were Notus, the Doctor would probably be dead.

“My lord,” Jason said. “Have you received any news of my friend?”

“Friend?”

“Leo Valdez.” Jason said, his patience was dwindling quickly. “The one who was taken by the winds.”

“Oh…yes. Or rather, no. We have had no word. He was not taken by  _ my  _ winds. No doubt this was the work of Boreas or his spawn.”

“Uh, yes.” Jason said. “We knew that.”

“That was the reason I took you in, of course.” Auster’s eyebrows rose into his wreath of steam. “Boreas must be opposed! The north winds must be driven back!”

“Right,” The Doctor said, “See, we  _ hate  _ Boreas, right Jason?”

“Of course,” Jason nodded. “We despise him!”

“But we can’t get back at him until we get our ship out of the harbor.”

“Ship in the harbor!” The god leaned back and chuckled, rain pouring out of his beard. “You know the  _ last  _ time mortal ships came into my harbor? A king of Libya…Psyollos was his name. He blamed  _ me  _ for the scorching winds that burned his crops. Can you believe it?”

“How ridiculous of him!” The Doctor said. Though, he knew exactly what had happened. Psyollos had been correct. Auster had, indeed, been the one who burned Psyollos’s crops.

“I know!” The god laughed deeply. “Why are you still in my harbor?”

“Well, our ship is damaged, see.” The Doctor said, “You also won’t let us leave.”

“Hmm.” Auster held up his finger and let a dust devil swirl between them like a baton. “You know, people accuse me of being fickle. Some days I am the scorching wind, the destroyer of crops, the sirocco from Africa! Other days I am gentle, heralding the warm summer rains and cooling fogs of the southern Mediterranean. And in the off-season, I have a lovely place in Cancun! At any rate, in ancient times, mortals both feared me and loved me. For a god, unpredictability can be a strength.”

“Then you are truly strong.” Jason said grudgingly.

“Thank you! Yes! But the same is not true of demigods.” Auster leaned forwards towards Jason. “You remind me of my own children, Jason Grace. You have blown from place to place. You are undecided. You change day to day. If you could turn the wind sock, which way would it blow?”

Jason looked incredibly tense and anxious. “Excuse me?”

“You say you need a navigator. You need my permission. I say you need neither. It is time to choose a direction. A wind that blows aimlessly is of no use to anyone.”

“I don’t…I don’t understand.”

But something in his eye…

Finally, he took a breath. “Yes. I know the direction I want to take.”

“Good! And?”

“Uh, we still need permission to leave and –”

Auster raised an index finger. “Still expecting guidance from the wind lords? A son of Jupiter should know better.”

Jason hesitated. “We’re leaving, Lord Auster. Today.”

The wind god grinned and spread his hands. “At last, you announce your purpose! Then you have my permission to go, though you do not need it. And how will you sail without your engineer, without your engines fixed?”

“You’re going to help us.” Jason commanded. “Your venti can take the form of horses. You’ll give us a team to pull the  _ Argo II _ . They’ll lead us to wherever Leo is.”

“Wonderful!” Auster beamed, his beard flashing with electricity. “Now…can you make good on those bold words? Can you control what you ask for, or will you be torn apart?”

The god clapped his hands. Winds swirled around his throne and took the form of horses. These weren’t dark and cold like Tempest. The South Wind horses were made of fire, sand, and hot thunderstorms. Four of them raced past, their heat singeing the hair off the Doctor’s arms. They galloped around the marble columns, spitting flames, neighing loudly. The more they ran, the wilder they became. 

Auster stroked his rainy beard. “Do you know why the venti can appear as horses, my boy? Every so often, we wind gods travel the earth in equine form. On occasion, we’ve been known to sire the fastest of all horses.”

“Thanks,” Jason muttered through his teeth. “Too much information.”

One of the venti charged at Jason. The Doctor pulled him aside, his clothes smoking.

“Sometimes,” Auster continued cheerfully, “Mortals recognize our divine blood. They will say,  _ That horse runs like the wind.  _ And for good reason. Like the fastest stallions, the venti are our children!”

The wind horses began to circle Jason and the Doctor.

“Like my friend Tempest,” Jason ventured.

“Oh, well…” Auster scowled. “I fear that one is a child of Boreas. How you tamed him, I will never now. These are my own offspring, a fine team of southern winds. Control them, and they will pull your ship from the harbor.”

Jason stared at the Doctor, who shrugged.

The steeds ran back and forth, working up a frenzy. They seemed conflicted – half hot, dry sirocco, half stormy thunderhead.

Jason closed his eyes.

After a moment of concentration, the horses changed. The storm clouds inside burned away, leaving nothing but red dust and shimmering heat.

“Well done,” said the god.

On the throne now sat Notus – a bronze-skinned old man in a fiery Greek chiton, his head crowned with a wreath of withered, smoking barley.

“What are you waiting for?” The god prompted.

Jason turned towards the fiery wind steeds. He didn’t seem so afraid anymore.

He thrust out his hand. A swirl of dust shot towards the nearest horse. A lasso – a rope of wind, more tightly wound than a tornado – wrapped around the horse’s neck. The wind formed a halter and brought the beast to a stop.

Jason summoned another wind rope and lashed a second horse. In less than a minute, he had tethered all four venti. He reigned them in, still whinnying and bucking, but none managed to break Jason’s ropes.

“Very good, Jason Grace,” Notus said. “You are a son of Jupiter, yet you have chosen your own path – as all the greatest demigods have done before you. You cannot control your parentage, but you  _ can  _ choose your legacy. Now, go. Lash your team to the prow and direct them toward Malta.”

“Malta?” The Doctor frowned.

“Once you arrive in the city of Valletta,” Notus said, “You will no longer need these horses.”

“That’s where Leo is?” The Doctor asked.

The god shimmered, slowly fading into waves of heat. “Your destiny grows clearer, Jason Grace. When the choice comes again – storm or fire – remember me. And do not despair.”

The door of the throne room burst open. The horses, smelling freedom, bolted for the exit.


	14. Old Friends and New Arrivals

The storm spirits tore across the waves, not quite as fast as Arion, but with a lot more heat. In no time, the entire continent of Africa was a hazy line on the horizon behind them.

Finally, they arrived in Malta, and Jason was finally able to release the reins and therefore the storm spirits. They horses scattered into particles of sand and steam.

The Doctor bounded up and assisted Jason down from the prow.

“Brought you some ambrosia.” The Doctor offered the bar to him. Jason looked down at his arms that were dotted with blisters.

“Thanks.” Jason accepted the bar, and as he ate, the blisters faded. He glanced at the sun. “How long was I?”

“Six hours, thirteen minutes, forty five seconds.”

“Oh.” He placed a hand on his grumbling stomach. “The others?”

“Hazel’s a bit sea sick, but the others are good. I’ll let them know it’s safe to return above deck.”

The crew gathered aboard deck and watched as the island got closer and closer. Docks were bristling with sails and from the rocky shoreline rose fortress-like sea walls – fifteen to twenty meters high. Above that sprawled a medieval-looking city of church spires, domes, and tightly wedged buildings, all made of the same golden stone. It looked as though the city covered every inch of the island.

The Doctor scanned the boats in the harbor. One hundred meters ahead, tied to the end of the longest dock, was a makeshift raft with a simple mast and a square canvas sail. On the back, the rudder was wired a sort of machine. He could see the glint of Celestial bronze.

The Doctor grinned. There was only one demigod who would make a boat like that, and he’d parked it as far out in the harbor as possible, where the  _ Argo II  _ couldn't fail to spot it.

“We’ve found Leo.”

They found Leo at the top of the city fortifications. He was sitting at an open-air café, overlooking the sea, drinking a cup of coffee and dressed in…Huh. He was dressed exactly as he was when they’d first met – jeans, a white shirt, and an old army jacket. But that jacket…It had burned up months ago.

Piper nearly knocked him out of his chair with a massive hug. “Leo! Oh, gods, where have you been?”

“Valdez!” Coach Hedge grinned. Then he seemed to remember he had a reputation to protect and forced a scowl. “You ever disappear like that again, you little punk, I’ll knock you into next month!”

The Doctor gave Leo a hug, Frank patted him on the back so hard it made him wince, and even Nico shook his hand.

Hazel kissed Leo on the cheek. “We thought you were dead!”

Leo mustered a faint smile. “Hey, guys. Nah, nah, I’m good.”

Leo wasn’t good. He wouldn’t meet their eyes. His hands were perfectly still on the table – Leo’s hands were  _ never  _ still. All the nervous energy had drained right out of him, replaced by a kind of wistful sadness.

He looked hearts-sick.

The others grabbed chairs from the nearby tables. The Doctor placed a soft hand on his arm. “Leo, what happened?” 

The boy’s eyes swept around the group and his message was clear:  _ Not here. Not in front of everyone. _

“I got marooned,” Leo said. “Long story. How about you guys? What happened with Khione?”

Coach Hedge snorted. “What happened?  _ Piper  _ happened. I’m telling you, this girl has skills!”

“Coach…” Piper protested.

Coach Hedge began retelling the story, but in his version, Piper was a kung fu assassin and there were a lot more Boreads.

As the coach spoke, the Doctor examined Leo with concern. The café had a perfect view of the harbor. Leo must have seen the  _ Argo II  _ sail in, yet he sat here drinking coffee – he didn’t even like coffee. He just waited for them to find them. That wasn’t like Leo in the slightest. The ship had been the most important thing in his life…Leo should have come running down the docks…

Coach Hedge was just describing how Piper had defeated Khione with a roundhouse kick when Piper interrupted.

“Coach!” She said. “It didn’t happen like that at all. Tell him, Doctor!”

“I dunno,” The Doctor shrugged. “That’s pretty much what I saw happen.”

Piper punched him from across the table. “I wouldn’t have done anything without you.”

“And we’d all be dead without Festus.” The Doctor said.

“Festus?” Leo raised his eyebrows. “But Festus was – oh.” He looked at the Doctor. “You must’ve reactivated him.”

The Doctor nodded.

“But then the navigation system and the crystal…”

“Crystal?” Jason asked.

Leo flinched. “Um, nothing. Anyway, what happened after the wind bomb went off?”

Hazel took up the story. A waitress came over and offered them menus. In no time they were munching on sandwiches and crisps, enjoying the sunny day.

Frank grabbed a tourist brochure stuck under the napkin dispenser. He began to read it. Piper patted Leo’s arm, like she couldn’t believe he was really here.

Despite the happy reunion, everyone seemed a little more subdued than usual – like they were picking up on Leo’s mood. He wished desperately that Leo would crack a joke, lighten the mood just a touch, but the boy remained deflated, empty with sorrow.

“So then Jason harnessed the venti,” Hazel finished. “And here we are.”

Leo whistled. “Hot-air horses? Dang, Jason. So basically, you held a bunch of gas together all the way to Malta, and then you let it loose.”

Jason frowned. “You know, it doesn’t sound so heroic when you put it that way.”

“Yeah, well. I’m an expert on hot air. I’m still wondering, why Malta? I just kind of ended up here on the raft, but was that a random thing, or –”

“Maybe because of this.” Frank tapped his brochure. “Says here Malta was where Calypso lived.”

Both the Doctor and Leo paled painfully.

“What?” The Doctor demanded.

Frank shrugged. “According to this, her original home was an island called –”

“Gozo…” The Doctor murmured. “It’s just north of here.”

“Calypso’s a Greek myth thingie, right?” Frank asked.

“Ah, a Greek myth thingie!” Coach Hedge rubbed his hands together. “Maybe we get to fight her! Do we get to fight her? ‘Cause I’m ready.”

“No.” The Doctor and Leo both snapped.

“No, we don’t have to fight her, Coach.” Leo murmured.

Piper frowned. “What’s wrong with you guys? Leo, you look –”

“Nothing’s wrong!” Leo shot to his feet. “Hey, we should get going. We’ve got work to do!”

“But…where did you go?” Hazel asked. “Where did you get those clothes? How –”

“Leo’s right, we’ve got to get going.” The Doctor insisted.

“Yep!” Leo agreed, sending the Doctor a thankful look. “Ships to fix! Festus to check! Earth goddesses to punch in the face! What are we waiting for? Leo’s back!”

He spread his arms and grinned. 

Jason sighed. “They’re right. We should get going.”

Everyone took the cue and began to wrap up their food and finish their drinks.

Suddenly, Hazel gasped. “Guys…”

She pointed towards the nearest horizon. A streak of darkness was shooting into the air like black lightning – as if pure night had torn through the daytime.

“I don’t see anything,” Coach Hedge grumbled.

“Me neither,” Piper said.

Nico’s hand gripped the Doctor’s arm. He seemed the only one of his mates apart from Hazel who noticed.

“That can’t be…” He muttered. “Greece is still hundreds of miles away.”

“Is that Epirus?” Jason gasped.

That was…concerning. It made sense that the Doctor could see something that only the children of Hades seemed to, but Jason? That couldn’t be good.

Nico nodded. “The House of Hades is open for business.”

A few seconds later, a rumbling sound washed over them like a distant artillery.

“It’s begun,” Hazel said.

“What has?” Leo asked.

When the next flash happened, Hazel’s golden eyes darkened. “Gaea’s final push,” She said. “The Doors of Death are working overtime. Her forces are entering the mortal world en masse.”

“We’ll never make it,” Nico said. “By the time we arrive, there’ll be too many monsters to fight.”

Jason set his jaw. “We’ll defeat them. And we’ll make it there fast. We’ve got Leo back. He’ll give us the speed we need.”

He turned to his friend. “Or is that just hot air?”

Leo managed a crooked grin.

“Time to fly, guys, gals, and alien pals,” He said, “Uncle Leo’s still got a few tricks up his sleeves!”


	15. Babies and Magic Bags

The Greek landscape, in the Doctor’s opinion, wasn’t all that bad. The rest of the crew disagreed. The hills were strewn with boulders and stunted cedars, all shimmering in the hazy air. The sun beat down, and even from the ship, the Doctor could hear the drone of cicadas buzzing in the trees.

“Hot and steamy!” Leo grinned beside the Doctor at the helm. “Makes me homesick for Houston! What do you guys say? All we need now are some giant mosquitoes, and it’ll feel just like the Gulf Coast!”

“Wow, thanks a lot, Leo.” Hazel grumbled. “We’ll probably get attacked by Ancient Greek mosquito monsters now.”

Leo still hadn’t told the Doctor what had happened to him. He kept promising he would, but every time the Doctor tried to bring it up, He would shut it down.

Wherever Leo had been, it had changed him. He still laughed and joked about, but his eyes were darker, they carried a weight to them…A weight the Doctor recognized. It was terrifyingly familiar. It was a look that shouldn’t have been in Leo’s eyes.

“I think he met someone.” Hazel suggested one evening as she, the Doctor, and Frank stood on the deck. Frank had just finished pointing out how Leo was no longer stealing wistful, mooning glances at Hazel – Admittedly, the Doctor hadn’t noticed he’d been doing that in the first place.

“What?” The Doctor asked.

“How?” Frank asked incredulously. “Where? How could you possibly know?”

Hazel smiled. “I just do.”

The Doctor frowned. Even after all this time on Earth, he had his doubts that he would ever really understand humans.

“There!” Nico called from atop the foremast. He pointed towards a glittering green river snaking its way through the hills a kilometer away. “Maneuver us that way. We’re close to the temple.  _ Very  _ close.”

As if to prove his point, black lightning ripped through the sky.

Much to the Doctor’s dismay, Jason strapped on his sword belt. “Everyone, arm yourself –”

“Or don’t!” The Doctor contributed. “Don’t is much better!”

Jason let out a sigh of exasperation. “Leo, get us close, but don’t land – no more contact with the ground than necessary. Piper, Hazel, get the mooring ropes.”

“On it!” Piper called.

Hazel gave Frank a peck on the cheek and ran to help.

“Doctor,” Jason called, “Do you mind going below and finding Coach Hedge?”

“Sure.” The Doctor gave a thumbs up and climbed down the stairs.

It was interesting. Jason seemingly had no problem whatsoever giving orders, yet with the Doctor, it was rarely an order. It was more of a request. 

As he neared the door, he slowed down. It was cracked open. Coach Hedge was speaking:

“Come on, babe!” The satyr was pleading. “You know it’s not like that!”

The Doctor had never heard him speak so…gently. 

Another voice spoke, the voice of Millie. From his distance and her volume, the Doctor couldn’t quite hear her. He moved closer, but Coach Hedge was now replying.

“I will,” He promised. “But, uh, we’re going into battle” – he cleared his throat – “and it may get ugly. You just  _ stay safe. _ I’ll get back. Honest.”

The Doctor knocked on the door. 

The talking stopped.

Exactly six seconds later, the door flew open.

Coach hedge stood there scowling. His eyes were bloodshot, he was wearing his usual baseball cap and gym shorts with a leather cuirass over his shirt and a whistle hanging from his neck.

“What do you want?”

“We need you above deck.” The Doctor said evenly.

“Yeah. ‘Course you do.” He grumbled.

“How’s Millie?”

The coach looked as though he may just smack the Doctor in the face, or at the very least blow his whistle as loud as he possibly could. Then his shoulders slumped, heaved a sigh, and turned inside, leaving the Doctor in the doorway.

The coach plopped down on his berth. He cupped his chin in his hand and stared glumly around his cabin. It looked something like a college dorm room; the floor was strewn with laundry, DVDs, and dirty dishes. Every time the ship tilted, a mismatched herd of sports equipment rolled across the floor – American footballs, basketballs, baseballs, and a single billiard ball. Tufts of goat hair floated through the air and collected beneath the furniture in clumps.

On the coach’s nightstand sat a bowl of water, a stack of golden drachmas, a flashlight, and a glass prism for making rainbows. The coach had obviously come prepared to make a lot of Iris messages.

The Doctor sat down beside the satyr. “Is Millie all right? The two of you are dating, yeah?”

“None of your business!” The coach snapped.

“If you don’t want to tell me –”

“Fine! If you must know –” Coach Hedge said. “But Millie and I aren’t dating anymore!”

The Doctor looked at the coach sadly. “I’m sorry it didn’t work between you two –”

“No, you dolt! We got married! She’s my wife!”

“Oh,” The Doctor grinned. “That’s brilliant! Congrats, mate! When’d you get married?”

“End of May,” Coach Hedge said. “Just before the  _ Argo II  _ sailed. We didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

“Is she all right, though? I heard a bit of your conversation –”

“That was private!”

“Superior hearing. Didn’t mean to. Sorry.”

Coach Hedge plucked some fur off his thigh and let it float through the air. “She took a break from her job in L.A., went to Camp Half-Blood for the summer, because we figured –” His voice cracked. “We figured it would be safer. Now she’s stuck there, with the Romans about to attack. She’s…she’s pretty scared.”

“Stuck?” The Doctor frowned. “She’s a cloud spirit, she can just float away.”

The coach curled his fingers around the grip of his baseball bat. “Normally, yeah. But see…She’s in a delicate condition. It wouldn’t be safe.”

“A delicate…” The Doctor’s eyes widened. “She’s pregnant!”

“Shout it a little louder,” Coach Hedge grumbled. “I don’t think they heard you in Croatia.”

The Doctor was grinning. “Coach, that’s brilliant! You’ll be brilliant!”

Coach Hedge scowled even deeper. “The war’s coming. Nowhere is safe. I should be there for Millie. If I gotta die somewhere –”

“You’re not going to die. Not now.” The Doctor promised, though the look in the coach’s eyes told him that the satyr didn’t quite believe him.

“Back when I was on my first assignment as a seeker, I was way out in Arizona. Brought in this kid named Clarisse.”

The Doctor nodded. “I know her.”

The coach nodded. “Great kid. Violent. Rude. Lots of potential. Anyway, while I was out, I had this dream about my mom. She – she was a cloud nymph like Mellie. I dreamed she was in trouble and needed my help right away. But I said to myself,  _ Nah, it’s just a dream. Who would hurt a sweet old cloud nymph? Besides, I gotta get this half-blood to safety. _ So I finished my mission, brought Clarisse to Camp Half-Blood. Afterward, I went looking for my mom. I was too late.”

“I’m so sorry.” The Doctor said. “What happened?”

Coach Hedge shrugged. “No idea. Never saw her again. Maybe if I’d been there for her, if I’d got back sooner…”

“It’s not your fault,” The Doctor assured him. “Even if you’d known the dream had meant something, what were your choices? Abandon Clarisse?”

Coach Hedge grunted. “But now my wife and unborn kid are in danger, halfway across the world, and I can’t do anything to help.”

“But you  _ are _ .” The Time Lord promised. “You’re helping us stop the giants from waking Gaea. Even if it doesn’t feel like it, you’re saving their lives.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I suppose.”

The Doctor sighed and looked down at his converse. “You’re afraid it’ll go the same way it did with your mum. You’re afraid you’ll fail again.” He shifted his gaze from his shoes to the coach. “Last time wasn’t your fault. And this time won’t be the same.”

“You can’t be sure.” Coach Hedge grumbled.

“I promise.”

The ship listed forwards and the herd of sports equipment rolled beneath the coach’s berth.

“We’re descending.” The Doctor observed. “We ought to get above.”

“Yeah.”

“C’mon, then.” The Doctor offered the coach his hand.

The coach hesitated, then took it.

The Doctor helped the satyr to his feet. Just as they were about to leave the room, Coach Hedge grabbed the Doctor’s shoulder and spun him around menacingly. “One word of this to the others and I’ll bash you so hard –”

“My lips are sealed.”

As the others made fast the aerial moorings, Leo grabbed the Doctor, Frank, and Hazel and pulled them towards the aft ballista. “Okay, here’s the plan.”

Hazel narrowed her eyes. “Your plans are the worst.”

“We could always do what I always do,” The Doctor suggested with a grin. “Improvise.”

Hazel’s eyes rolled. “Fine. I’ll concede, Leo. Your plans are the  _ second  _ worst.”

“Hey!”

“I need that piece of magical firewood,” Leo said. “Snappy!”

Frank choked.

Hazel backed away, instinctively covering her coat pocket. “Leo, you can’t –”

“I found a solution.” Leo turned to Frank. “It’s your call, big guy, but I can protect you.”

Frank hesitated, he glanced at the Doctor, who looked…curious, but not untrusting. He gave Leo a trusting nod. “Go ahead, Hazel.”

“But…” Hazel took a deep breath. “Okay.” She took out the piece of firewood and handed it to Leo.

In Leo’s hand, it wasn’t much bigger than a screwdriver. The tinder was still charred on one side from where Frank had used it to burn through the icy chains that had imprisoned Thanatos back in Alaska.

From a pocket of his toolbelt, Leo produced a piece of white cloth. “Behold!”

Frank scowled. “A handkerchief?”

“A surrender flag?” Hazel guessed.

“Leo, you’re a genius!” The Doctor grinned. He took the cloth into his hands and examined it. “It looks to be woven from a combination of cotton fibres, polyhydroquinone, and –”

“English, please?” Frank asked.

“It’s a fireproof pouch.” The Doctor said, slipping the firewood inside and pulling it closed with a tie of bronze thread, before handing it back to Leo.

“The drawstring was my idea.” Leo said proudly. “It took some work, lacing that into the fabric, but the pouch won’t open unless you want it to. The fabric breathes just like regular cloth, so the firewood isn’t any more sealed up than it would be in Hazel’s coat pocket.”

“Uh…” Hazel said. “How is that an improvement, then?”

“Hold this so I don’t give you a heart attack.” Leo tossed the pouch to Frank, who nearly fumbled it.

Leo summoned a white-hot ball of fire into his right hand. He held his left forearm over the flames, grinning as they locked the sleeve of his jacket.

“See?” He said. “It doesn't burn!”

Frank looked doubtful. “Uh…you’re  _ immune  _ to flames.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but I have to  _ concentrate  _ if I don’t want my clothes to burn. And I’m not concentrating, see? This is totally fireproof cloth. Which means you’re fireproof wood won’t burn in that pouch.”

Neither Hazel nor Frank looked convinced. The Doctor was. The pouch was a work of genius. Who on the planet could have possibly created it, he wasn’t quite sure.

“How can you be sure?” Hazel asked.

“Sheesh, tough audience.” Leo extinguished the fire. “Guess there’s only one way to persuade you.” He held out his hand to Frank.

“Uh, no, no.” Frank backed off. “That’s okay, Leo. Thanks, but I – I can’t –”

“Man, you gotta trust me.”

Frank stared at Leo for a long moment. Finally, he reluctantly handed Leo the pouch. “Please try not to kill me.”

Leo’s hand blazed. The pouch neither blackened nor burned.

The Doctor glanced at Frank. He wasn’t dying, so that was a good sign.

Leo extinguished the flames. He wriggled his eyebrows at Frank. “Who’s your best buddy?”

“Don’t answer that,” Hazel said. “But, Leo, that  _ was  _ amazing.”

“It was brilliant!” The Doctor grinned. “Where’d you get that?”

Leo froze, and for a millisecond, the Doctor could see sorrow in his eyes. “A – a friend of mine made it.”

There was an uncomfortable silence.

“So,” Leo finally said. “Who wants to take this newly ultra-safe piece of firewood?”

“I’ll keep it.” Frank said.

Hazel pursed her lips. She looked down, perhaps so Frank wouldn’t see the hurt in her eyes. She’d been protecting that firewood for him. It was a symbol of their relationship.

“Hazel, it’s not about you,” Frank promised gently. “I can’t explain, but I – I have a feeling I’m going to need to step up when we’re in the House of Hades. I need to carry my own burden.”

Hazel’s golden eyes were full of concern. “I understand. I just…I worry.”

Leo tossed Frank the pouch. Frank tied it around his belt.

“And Leo,” Frank said. “Thanks.”

Leo grinned. “What are genius friends for?”

“Hey, guys!” Piper called from the bow. “Better get over here. You need to see this.”   


They’d found the source of the dark lightning.

The  _ Argo II  _ hovered directly above the river. A few hundred meters away at the top of the nearest hill stood a cluster of ruins – crumbling walls encircling the limestone shells of a few buildings. Somewhere within said ruins, tendrils of black ether curled into the sky. As they watched, a bolt of dark energy ripped through the air, rocking the ship and sending a cold shockwave across the landscape.

“The Necromanteion,” Nico said. “The House of Hades.”

Piper hugged her arms. “I feel vulnerable floating up here like this. Couldn’t we set down in the river?”

“I wouldn’t,” Hazel said. “That’s the River Acheron.”

Jason squinted in the sunlight. “I thought the Acheron was in the Underworld.”

“It is,” Hazel said. “But its headwaters are in the mortal world. That river below us? Eventually it flows underground, straight into the realm of Pluto – er, Hades. Landing a demigod ship on those waters –”

“Yeah, let’s stay up here,” Leo decided. “I don’t want any zombie water on my hull.”

Beside the Doctor, Nico raised the scepter of Diocletian. Its orb glowed with purple light, as if in sympathy with the dark storm.

“How’s learning to use the scepter gone?” The Doctor inquired.

“We’ll find out.” Nico said, staring at the tendrils of darkness undulating from the ruins. “I don’t really want to try until I’ve got to. The Doors of Death are already working overtime bringing in Gaea’s monsters. Any more activity raising the dead, and the Doors might shatter permanently, leaving a rip in the mortal world that can’t be closed.”

Coach Hedge grunted. “I hate rips in the world. Let’s go bust some monster heads.”

“Coach,” The Doctor said suddenly. “Why don’t you stay on the ship?”

Coach Hedge frowned. “Stay behind? Me? I’m your best soldier!”

“We may need the air support,” The Doctor. “You can man the ballistae.”

Everyone stared at the Doctor. For him to suggest the coach use a  _ weapon _ .

_ Stay here. _ The Doctor’s eyes pleaded.  _ Stay alive long enough to meet your child. _

The coach met the Time Lord’s eyes. Relief showed subtly on his face.

“Well…” He grumbled, “I suppose somebody’s got to man the ballistae.”

“So that’s settled.” Jason said. “Everybody else – let’s get to the ruins. Time to crash Gaea’s party.”


	16. The Necromanteion

Despite the midday heat and the raging storm of death energy, a group of tourists were climbing over the ruins. Fortunately, there weren’t all that many, and they didn’t give the crew a second look.

Nico led the way, the Doctor in-step beside him. At the top of the hill, they climbed over an old retaining wall and down into an excavated trench. Finally, they arrived at a stone doorway that led directly into the side of the hill. The storm appeared to originate right above their heads.

Nico faced the group. “From here, it gets tough.”

“Sweet,” Leo said. “‘Cause so far I’ve totally been pulling my punches.”

Nico glared at him. “We’ll see how long you keep your sense of humor. Remember, this is where pilgrims came to commune with dead ancestors. Underground, you may see things that are hard to look at, or hear voices trying to lead you astray in the tunnels. Frank, do you have the barley cakes?”

“What?” Frank looked startled.

“I’ve got the cakes,” Hazel said. She pulled out the magical barley crackers they’d made from the grain Triptolemus had given them in Venice.

_ “Bon Appetit.”  _ The Doctor said, then: “On some planets, they actually have this phrase,” – He made a series of clicking noises that he knew the humans would be unable to recreate – “ Which means –”

Frank groaned and put his head between his knees. “You are  _ so  _ weird.”

“It’s almost like he’s alien.” Nico murmured.

Leo stared at the boy. “Did you just crack a joke?”

“Just eat your stupid crackers.” Nico grumbled, though he had a bemused look on his face.

The Doctor chewed the cracker. It was…it was pretty terrible. And as someone who had but a  _ lot  _ of strange things in his mouth, that was saying something.

“Yum,” Piper said. Even she couldn’t avoid making a face. 

“Okay.” Nico choked down the last of his barley. “That should protect us from the poison.”

“Poison?” Leo asked. “Did I miss the poison? ‘Cause I love poison.”

“Soon enough,” Nico promised. “Just stick close together, and maybe we can avoid getting lost or going insane.”

The Doctor rgined. “Lead the way!”

The rest of the crew didn’t look so enthusiastic as Nico led them underground.

The tunnel spiraled gently downwards, the ceiling supported by white stone arches. As they walked, Hazel ran her hands along the masonry. “This wasn’t part of a temple,” She whispered. “This was…the basement for a manor house, built in later Greek times.”

“A manor house?” Frank asked. “Please don’t tell me we’re in the wrong place.”

“The House of Hades is below us.” The Doctor murmured. “But Hazel’s right. Look at the architecture here…it’s much newer.”

“When the archaeologists first excavated this site, they thought they’d found the Necromanteion.” Nico said. “Then they realized the ruins were too recent, so they decided it was the wrong spot. They were right the first time. They just didn’t dig deep enough.”

They turned a corner and stopped. In front of them, the tunnel ended in a large block of stone.

“A cave-in?” Jason asked.

“A test,” Nico said. “Hazel, would you do the honors?”

Hazel stepped forwards. She placed her hand on the rock, and the entire boulder crumbled to dust.

The tunnel shuddered. Cracks spread across the ceiling. For a moment, the Doctor feared they’d all be crushed under the earth, but then the rumbling stopped and the dust settled.

A set of steps carved deeper into the earth, the barreled ceiling held up by more repeating arches, closer together and carved from polished black stone. Painted on the walls were crude pictures of black cattle marching downwards.

“I really don’t like cows,” Piper muttered.

“Agreed.” Frank said.

“Those are the cattle of Hades, yeah?” The Doctor glanced at Nico, who nodded.

“It’s just a symbol of –”

“Look.” Frank pointed.

On the first step of the stairwell, a golden chalice gleamed. The Doctor was nearly positive it hadn’t been there a moment before. The cup was full of dark green liquid.

“Hooray,” Leo said half-heartedly. “I suppose that’s our poison.”

Nico picked up the chalice. “We’re standing at the ancient entrance of the Necromanteion. Odysseus came here, and dozens of other heroes, seeking advice from the dead.”

“Did the dead advise them to leave immediately?” Leo asked.

“I would be fine with that,” Piper admitted.

Nico drank from the chalice, then offered it to the Doctor.

They passed it around, each taking a sip of poison. 

Frank was the last to drink. As he drained the chalice, it turned to smoke in his hands.

Nico nodded, satisfied. “Congratulations. Assuming the poison doesn’t kill us, we should be able to find our way through the Necromanteion’s first level.”

“The  _ first  _ level?” Piper asked.

“Allons-y!” The Doctor grinned before bounding up the stairs.

The stairs split in three directions. As soon as Hazel chose a path, the stairs split again. They wound their way through interconnecting tunnels and rough-hewn burial chambers. The walls were carved with dusty niches that may have once held bodies. The arches over the doors were painted with black cows, white poplar trees, and owls.

“I thought the owl was Minerva’s symbol,” Jason murmured.

“The screech owl is one of Hades’s sacred animals,” Nico said. “Its cry is a bad omen.

“This way.” Hazel pointed to a doorway. “It’s the only one that won’t collapse on us.”

“Brilliant choice.” The Doctor grinned.

They walked until they finally reached an archway with human skulls embedded in the rock. In the purple light of Diocletian’s scepter, the hollow eye sockets appeared to blink.

“This is the entrance to the second level,” Hazel said. “I’d better take a look.”

She began to trace her fingers across the carved skulls. “No traps on the doorway, but…something is strange here. My underground sense is – is fuzzy, like someone is working against me, hiding what’s ahead of us.”

“The sorceress Hecate warned you about?” Jason guessed. “The one from Leo’s dream? What was her name?”

Hazel chewed her lip. “It would be safer not to say her name. But stay alert. One thing I’m sure of: From this point on, the dead are stronger than the living.”

The Doctor believed her. He could hear the voices in the dark that were beginning to whisper louder and louder. He could see movement weaving through the shadows.

“Where are the monsters?” Frank wondered aloud. “I thought Gaea had an army guarding the Doors.”

“I don’t know.” The Doctor frowned. “But you’re right. It’s been too easy.”

“At this point I’d almost prefer a straight-up fight.” Jason murmured.

“Careful what you wish for, man.” Leo summoned a ball of fire to his hand. “Personally, I’m hoping nobody’s home. We walk in, find Percy and Annabeth, close the Doors of Death, and walk out. Maybe stop at the gift shop.”

“Yeah,” Frank said. “That’ll happen.”

The tunnel shook. Rubble rained down from the ceiling.

“That was close,” Hazel muttered, grabbing Frank’s hand. “These passageways won’t take much more.”

“The Doors of Death just opened again,” Nico said.

“It’s happening like every fifteen minutes,” Piper noted.

“Twelve.” The Doctor corrected.

“We’d better hurry.” Nico said. “Percy and Annabeth are close. They’re in danger. I can sense it.”

As they traveled deeper, the corridors widened. The ceilings rose to six meters high, decorated with elaborate paintings of owls in the branches of white poplars. The tunnels were big enough for even giants. There were blind corners everywhere, perfect for ambushes. The crew could be flanked or surrounded easily. They would have no good options for retreat.

Leo held his fire close to the walls. The Doctor could see Ancient Greek graffiti scratched into the stone – prayers and supplications to the dead, written thousands of years ago. On the tunnel floor, ceramic shards and silver coins were littered.

“Offerings,” The Doctor murmured.

Nico nodded. “If you wanted your ancestors to appear, you had to make an offering.”

“Let’s not make an offering,” Jason suggested.

The Doctor had to agree. The last thing they needed were for a bunch of grumpy Time Lords with a grudge and horrid fashion sense.

“The tunnel from here is unstable,” Hazel warned. “The floor might…well, just follow me. Step  _ exactly  _ where I step.”

She made her way forwards, Frank following directly behind, the Doctor not far after.

Suddenly, Frank froze.

“Frank?” The Doctor asked.

Hazel and paused and turned. “Are you okay?” She fretted. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Frank murmured. “I just –”

He furrowed his eyebrows. He started to move forwards, as if to step out of line.

“Frank, don’t move.” Hazel said.

Frank glanced down as if he hadn't noticed himself move.

“Lead where?” He suddenly asked the air.

“Uh, big guy?” Leo said. “Could you not freak out on us? Please and thank you.”

“I’m – I’m okay.” Frank shook his head as if that would help dispel a voice in his ear. “Just…a voice.”

Nico nodded. “I  _ did  _ warn you. It’ll only get worse. We should –”

Hazel held up her hand for silence. “Wait here, everybody.”

The Doctor didn’t quite like it, but she forged ahead alone. Twenty-three seconds later, she returned, her face drawn and pensive.

“Scary room ahead,” she wanted. “Don’t panic.”

“Those two things don’t go together,” Leo murmured. But they followed Hazel into the cavern.

It looked like a circular cathedral, with a ceiling so high it was nearly lost in the gloom. Dozens of other tunnels led off in different directions, each echoing with ghostly voices. But the floor – the floor was a mosaic of bones and gems – human femurs, hip bones, and ribs twisted and fused together into a smooth surface, dotted with diamonds and rubies. The bones formed patterns, like skeletal contortionists tumbling together, curling to protect the precious stones – a dance of death and riches.

“Touch nothing,” Hazel said.

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Leo muttered.

Jason scanned the exits. “Which way now?”

For once, Nico looked uncertain. “This should be the room where the priests invoked the most powerful spirits. One of these passages leads deeper into the temple, to the third level and the altar of Hades himself. But which –?”

“That one.” Frank pointed at a doorway.

The Doctor frowned. “How do you know?”

“You don’t see the ghost?” Frank asked.

“Ghost?” Nico asked.

That was definitely not good.

The floor began to vibrate. It was going to collapse.

“We need to go  _ now _ .” The Doctor urged.

“Wait,” Hazel said. “This floor is  _ not  _ stable, and underneath…well, I’m not sure  _ what’s  _ underneath. I need to scout a safe path.”

“Hurry, then.” The Doctor said it a little harsher than he intended.

They made their way forwards. The cavern reverberated with monsterous roars – dozens, maybe hundreds of enemies coming from every direction. He could hear the bellow of the Gegeines, the screech of gryphons, the guttural war cries of Cyclopes…

“Hazel, don’t stop!” Nico ordered. He pulled the scepter of Diocletian from his belt. Piper and Jason drew their swords as monsters spilled into the cavern.

A vanguard of six-armed Gegeines threw a volley of stones that shattered the bone and jewel floor like ice. A fissure spread across the center of the room, coming straight towards Leo, Frank, and Hazel.

The Doctor lunged for the three demigods, tackling them to the ground. They skidded across the cavern, landing at the edge of the tunnel as rocks and spears flew overhead.

“Run!” The Doctor shouted.

Frank, Hazel, and Leo scrambled into the tunnel. He turned back to the others, but he could see that dividing the cavern was a new fifteen meter wide chasm, spanned only by two rickety stretches of bone flooring. The bulk of the monster army was on the opposite side, howling in frustration and throwing whatever they could find, including each other. Some attempted to cross the bridges, which cracked and crackled under their weight.

Jason, Piper, and Nico stood on the near side of the chasm, which was good, but they were surrounded by a ring of Cyclopes and hellhounds. More monsters kept pouring in from the side corridors, whilst gryphons wheeled overhead, undeterred by the crumbling floor.

The three demigods would never make it to the tunnel. Even if Jason tried to fly them, they’d be shot out of the air.

“We have to help them,” Hazel said.

“Nico!” The Doctor yelled. “The scepter!”

Nico raised Diocletian’s scepter, and the cavern air shimmered purple. Ghosts climbed from the fissure and seeped from the walls – an entire Roman legion in full battle gear. They began taking on physical form, like walking corpses, but they seemed confused. Jason yelled in Latin, ordering them to form ranks and attack. The undead just shuffled amongst the monsters, causing momentary confusion, but it wouldn’t last.

Frank turned to Hazel, Leo, and the Doctor. “You guys keep going.”

“Hazel’s eyes widened. “What? No!”

“You have to.” Frank insisted. “Find the Doors. Save Annabeth and Percy.”

“But –” Leo glanced over Frank’s shoulder. “Hit the deck!”

The Doctor dove for cover as a volley of rocks slammed overhead, dividing the Doctor, Leo, and Hazel from Frank.


	17. The Wrath of Pasiphaë

After the tunnel collapsed, Hazel wept and screamed. She dug at the debris that separated them from the others. She pounded her fists against the stones and yelled curses.

Finally, the Doctor placed a hand on her shoulder. 

She looked up, tear-tracks running down her cheeks.

“Frank is…he’s –”

“Frank will be fine,” The Doctor promised, though he wasn’t so sure himself.

“Yeah, Frank Zhang has  _ moves. _ ” Leo said. “He’s probably gonna turn into a kangaroo and do some marsupial jujitsu on their ugly faces.”

Hazel smiled despite herself, accepting Leo’s hand and allowing him to help her up.

“Leo, I’m sorry.”

Leo raised an eyebrow. “Okay. For what?”

“For…” She gestured around helplessly. “Everything. For thinking you were Sammy, for leading you on. I mean, I didn’t meant to, but if I did –”

“Hey.” Leo smiled, squeezing her hand. “Machines are designed to work.”

“Uh, what?” Hazel asked.

“I figure the universe is basically like a machine.” He looked at the Doctor as though searching for confirmation. “I don’t know who made it, if it was the Fates, or the gods, or capital-G G-d, or whatever. But it chugs along the way it’s supposed to most of the time. Sure, little pieces break and stuff goes haywire once in a while, but mostly…things happen for a reason. Like all of us meeting.”

The Doctor frowned. “That’s actually a brilliant analogy. I mean, it’s wrong, but it’s brilliant.”

“How can an analogy be wrong?” Hazel frowned.

“Don’t believe in G-d.”

“How can you not believe in gods?” Leo cried. “You’ve  _ met  _ gods!”

“Not  _ gods, _ ” The Doctor said. “But one overall being who controls everything. That’s rubbish.”

“Well  _ I  _ think Leo’s a philosopher.” Hazel said.

“Nah,” Leo laughed. “I’m just a mechanic. But I figure my  _ bisabuelo  _ Sammy knew what was what. He let you go, Hazel. My job is to tell you that it’s okay. You and Frank – you’re good together. We’re all going to get through this. I hope you guys get a chance to be happy. Besides, Zhang couldn’t tie his shoes without your help.”

“That’s mean,” Hazel chided, but she was smiling.

There was a long pause.

“What happened to you when you were on your own?” Hazel asked.

Leo’s eye twitched. “Long story. I’ll tell you sometime, but I’m still waiting to see how it shakes out.”

The Doctor frowned. Somehow, Hazel had gotten more out of him about his time away with one question than the Doctor had since the son of Hephaestus came back.

“The universe is a machine,” Hazel said, “So it’ll be fine.”

“Hopefully.”

“As long as it’s not one of  _ your  _ machines,” Hazel added. “Because your machines  _ never  _ do what they’re supposed to.”

“Yeah, ha ha.” Leo summoned fire into his hand. “Now, which way, Miss Underground?”

Haze scanned the path before them. About ten meters down, the tunnel split into four smaller arteries, each one identical.

“That way.” She decided, pointing to the left. “It feels the most dangerous.”

“Brilliant!” The Doctor grinned. “The left it is!”

They began their descent.

As soon as they reached the first archway, Gale the polecat found them.

She scoured up Hazel’s side and curled around her neck.  _ “Where’ve you been?”  _ She chittered crossly.  _ “You’re late.” _

“Not the weasel again,” Leo complained. 

“Guys, be ready.” Hazel suddenly whispered. “We’re getting close.”

“Close to what?” Leo asked.

A familiar woman’s voice echoed down the corridor: “Close to  _ me _ .”

The Doctor’s knees nearly buckled. Hazel’s and Leo’s did.

With the feeling not unlike that of a vortex manipulator, they were suddenly a hundred meters down the corridor, at the entrance of the chamber.

“Welcome,” said the woman’s voice. “I’ve looked forward to this.”

The Doctor’s eyes swept the cavern. He couldn’t see where the voice was coming from.

The obsidian walls were carved with scenes of death: plague victims, corpses on the battlefield, torture chambers with skeletons hanging in iron cages – all of it embellished with precious gems that somehow made the scenes even more ghastly.

As in the Pantheon, the domed roof was a pattern of recessed square panels, but here each panel was a stela – a grave marker with Ancient Greek inscriptions. It was very likely that there were actual bodies buried behind them.

The Doctor could see no other exits. At the apex of the ceiling, where the Pantheon’s skylight would've been, a circle of pure black stone gleamed, as if to reinforce the sense that there was no way out – no sky above, only darkness.

His eyes drifted to the center of the room.

“Yep,” Leo muttered. “Those are doors, all right.”

Fifteen meters away was a set of freestanding lift doors, their panels etched in silver and iron. Rows of chains ran down either side, bolting the frame to large hooks in the floor.

The area around the doors was littered with black rubble.

“An ancient altar to Hades once stood there.” Hazel said, her voice full of anger. “It must’ve been destroyed to make room for the Doors of Death.”

She then looked away from the door and shouted, “Where are you?

“Don’t you see us?” The woman’s voice taunted. “I thought Hecate chose you for your skill.”

Dark spots began to float in the Doctor’s eyes. Frowning, he tried to blink them out, but they only turned darker. The spots consolidated into a massive shadowy figure looming next to the Doors.

The giant Clytius was shrouded in black smoke, just as it had been in Leo’s dream, but now, the Doctor could somewhat make out his form – dragon-like legs with ash-coloured scales; a massive humanoid upper body encased in Stygian armor; long, braided hair that seemed to be made of smoke. His complexion was as dark as Death’s (The Doctor would know, as he’d actually met Death). His eyes glinted cold like diamonds. He carried no weapon, but the Doctor knew that all this meant was he didn’t need one.

Leo whistled. “You know, Clytius…for such a big dude, you’ve got a beautiful voice.”

The Doctor snorted with laughter as the woman hissed, “Idiot.”

Halfway between the Doctor and the giant, the air shimmered. The sorceress appeared.

She wore an elegant sleeveless dress of woven gold, her dark hair piled into a cone, encircled with diamonds and emeralds. Around her neck hung a pendant like a small maze, on a cord set with rubies that reminded the Time Lord of crystallized blood drops.

The woman was beautiful, but her eyes sparkled with malice.

“Pasiphaë.” Hazel said.

The woman inclined her head. “My dear Hazel Levesque.”

Leo coughed. “You two know each other? Like Underworld chums, or –”

“Silence, fool.” Pasaphaë’s voice was soft, but full of venom. “I have no use for demigod boys – always so full of themselves, so brash and destructive.”

“Hey, lady,” Leo protuested. “I don’t destroy things much. I’m a son of Hephaestus.”

“A tinkerer,” Snapped Pasiphaë. “Even worse. I knew Daedalus. His inventions brought me nothing but trouble.”

Leo blinked. “Daedalus…like,  _ the  _ Daedalus? Well, then, you should know all about us  _ tinkerers _ . We’re more into fixing, building, occasionally sticking wads of oilcloth in the the mouths of rude ladies –”

“Leo.” The Doctor placed a hand on the boy. As amusing as this was, he had the feeling that the sorceress was about to turn Leo into something unpleasant if he didn’t stop.

“Listen to your friend,” Pasiphaë said. “Stay quiet so that your woman may talk.”

“Okay, rude.” The Doctor grumbled.

Pasiphaë paced in front of them, examining Hazel, her eyes full of hate. The sorceress’s power radiated from her. 

But it was Clytius who really unnerved the Doctor.

He stood in the background, silent and motionless apart for the dark smoke that poured from his body, pooling around his feet.

“Your – your friend doesn’t say much,” Hazel noted. It seemed Clytius unnerved her as much as he did the Doctor.

Pasiphaë looked back at the giant and sniffed with disdain. “Pray he stays silent, my dear. Gaea has given me the pleasure of dealing with you; but Clytius is my, ah, insurance. Just between you and me, as sister sorceresses, I think he’s also here to keep my powers in check, in case I forget my new mistress’s orders. Gaea is careful that way.”

Hazel straightened her back and attempted to look confident. “Whatever you’re planning, it won’t work. We’ve cut through every monster Gaea’s put in our path. If you’re smart, you’ll get out of our way.”

Gale gnashed her teeth in approval, but Pasiphaë didn’t seem impressed.

“You don’t look like much,” The sorceress mused. “But then you demigods never do. My husband, Minos, king of Crete? He was a son of Zeus. You would never have known it by looking at him. He was almost as scrawny as they are.” She flicked a hand towards Leo and the Doctor.

“Oi! I’m not scrawny.” The Doctor grumbled.

“Wow,” muttered Leo. “Minos must’ve done something really horrible to deserve  _ you _ .”

“He did actually.” The Doctor said. “Poseidon sent him a bull to sacrifice to him, but Minos decided to keep it instead. As punishment, Poseidon had Pasaphaë fall in love with the bull. She had a child with it –”

“The Minotaur.” Hazel remembered.

“Yes,” Pasiphaë said. “My disgrace was unbearable. After my son was born and locked in the Labyrinth, Minos refused to have anything to do with me. He said I had ruined  _ his  _ reputation! And do you know what happened to Minos, Hazel Levesque? For his crimes and his pride? He was  _ rewarded. _ He was made a judge of the dead in the Underworld, as if he had any right to judge others! Hades gave him that position.  _ Your father.” _

“Pluto, actually.” Hazel corrected.

Pasiphaë sneered. “Irrelevant. So you see, I hate demigods as much as I hate the gods. Any of your brethernal who survive the war, Gaea has promised to me, so that I may watch them die slowly in my new domain. I only wish I had more time to torutre you three properly. Alas –”

“I’m not actually a demigod,” The Doctor piped up helpfully.

It was then that the Doors of Death made a pleasant chiming sound in the center of the room. The green  _ UP  _ button on the right side of the frame began to glow and the chains shook.

“There, you see?” Pasiphaë shrugged apologetically. “The Doors are in use. Twelve minutes, and they will open.”

“More giants?” Hazel asked.

“Thankfully, no,” said the sorceress. “They are all accounted for – back in the mortal world in the place for the final assault.” Pasaphaë gave her a cold smile. “No, I would imagine the Doors are being used by someone else…someone unauthorized.”

“Percy and Annabeth.” The Doctor murmured.

“Oh, not to worry.” Pasiphaë waved her hand dismissively. “Clytius will handle them. You see, when the chime sounds again, someone on  _ our  _ side needs to push the  _ UP  _ button or the Doors will fail to open and whoever is inside –  _ poof.  _ Gone. Or perhaps Clytius will let them out and deal with them in person. That depends on  _ you  _ three.”

“How exactly does it depend on us?” Hazel demanded.

“Well, obviously, we ended only one set of demigods alive.” Pasiphaë said. “The lucky two will be taken to Athens and sacrificed to Gaea at the Feast of Hope.”

“And the Doctor?” Hazel asked.

Pasiphaë shrugged. “Gaea has requested his life be spared and brought to her, but if death is necessary.” She shrugged. “Then she can do without him.”

“Lovely.” The Doctor grumbled.

“So will it be you, or your friends in the elevator?” The sorceress spread her hands. “Let’s see who is still alive in twelve…actually, eleven minutes, now.”

The cavern dissolved into darkness.

Layers of the Mist enfolded the Doctor, twisting his sense of reality. He took one step forwards and walked into a wall that shouldn’t have been there.

Leo pressed his hands against the stone. “What the heck? Where are we?”

A corridor stretched out to their left and right. Torches guttered in iron sconces. The air smelled of mildew, and on Hazel’s shoulder, Gale barked angrily:  _ “It’s not real!”  _ And then a few foul words. 

“It’s an illusion.” The Doctor murmured. “It’s not real. We need to break through it.”

Leo pounded on the wall. “Pretty solid illusion.”

“The Doctor’s right,” Hazel said. “It’s got to be an illusion.”

“Is it an illusion, Hazel Levesque,” Pasiphaë’s laugh echoed around them, “Or something more? Don’t you see what I have created?”

“It’s the Labyrinth,” Hazel said suddenly. “She’s remaking the Labyrinth.”

_ “What  _ now?” Leo, who had been tapping the wall with a ball peen hammer, frowned at her. “I thought the Labyrinth collapsed during that battle at Camp Half-Blood – like, it was connected to Daedalus’s life force or something, and then he died.”

“But Pasiphaë is alive.” The Doctor realized. “She was the one who breathed magical life into the Labyrinth.”

“Indeed,” The sorceress’s voice sounded smug. “Daedalus was nothing compared to me – the immortal sorceress, daughter of Helios, sister of Circe! Now the Labyrinth will be  _ my  _ domain.”

“It’s an illusion,” The Doctor said, more confidently this time. “We’ve got to break through it!”

But even as he spoke, the walls grew more solid, the smell of mildew more intense.

“Too late, too late,” Pasiphaë crooned. “The maze is already awake. It will spread under the skin of the earth once more while your mortal world is leveled. You demigods…you  _ heroes _ …will wander its corridors, dying slowly of thirst and fear and misery. Or perhaps, if I am feeling merciful, you will die quickly, in great pain!”

Holes opened in the floor beneath the Doctor’s feet. The Doctor grabbed Leo in one hand and Hazel in the other and pulled them away as a row of spikes shot upwards, impaling the ceiling.

“Run!” The Doctor shouted.

Pasiphaë’s laughter echoed down the corridor. “Where are you going, young sorceress? Running from an illusion?”

Hazel didn’t dignify the sorceress with an answer. They were too busy running.

Behind them, row after row of spikes shot towards the ceiling with a persistent  _ thunk, thunk, thunk. _

Hazel ended up taking the lead, pulling the Doctor and therefore Leo down a side corridor. They leapt over a tripwire, then stumbled to a halt in front of a pit five meters across.

“How deep is that?” Leo gasped for breath. His trousers were ripped where one of the spikes had grazed him.

H”It’s at least fifty feet straight down,” Hazel reported. “With a pool of poison at the bottom. I – I think. Pasiphaë could be messing with my senses.”

“Eight minutes now,” said the voice of Pasiphaë. “I’d love to see you survive, truly. That would prove you worthy sacrifices to Gaea in Athens. But then, of course, we wouldn’t need your friends in the elevator.”

“What do we do?” Leo asked.

No one seemed to know.

“Seven minutes now,” Pasiphaë lamented. “If only we had more time! So many indignities I’d like you to suffer.”

Hazel’s brows set in determination. “We’re going to jump.”

“What?” The Doctor cried.

“It’s not as far as it looks. Go!”

She grabbed the boys’ hands and they launched themselves across the pit. When they landed, the Doctor glanced back only to see no pit at all – just a ten centimeter crack in the floor.

“Come on!” Hazel urged.

They ran as the voice of Pasiphaë droned on. “Oh, dear, no. You’ll never survive  _ that  _ way. Six minutes.”

The ceiling above them cracked apart. Gale squeaked in alarm, but another tunnel suddenly appeared to the left, and Hazel pulled the two boys down it.

Pasiphaë sighed with disappointment. “You really aren’t very good at this, my dear.”

“I did that!” Hazel grinned as they ran. “I manipulated the Mist! I –”

The floor collapsed under them. Hazel jumped to one side, dragging Leo and the Doctor behind her. They ran towards another magically-appearing tunnel, veering back the way they’d come.

“Hold your breath,” Hazel warned.

They plunged into a very toxic-looking fog. It stung the Doctor’s eyes, but he didn’t breathe it in. They kept running.

“Five minutes,” Pasaphaë said. “Alas! If only I could watch you suffer longer.”

They burst into a corridor with fresh air. Leo coughed. “If only she would shut up. We’ve already got a human stop-watch.”

“Hey!” The Doctor cried.

They ducked under a bronze garrote wire. They made their way through another Mist-manipulated tunnel.

The walls began to close in on either side. They ran faster.

“A pity,” said Pasiphaë. “I wish I could kill you  _ and  _ your friends in the elevator, but Gaea has insisted that two of you must be kept alive until the Feast of Hope, when your blood will be put to good use! Ah, well. I will have to find other victims for my Labyrinth. You three have been second-rate failures.”

Hazel, Leo, and the Doctor stumbled to a stop. Before them stretched a chasm so wide, even the Doctor couldn’t see the other side. From somewhere below in the darkness came the sound of hissing – thousands and thousands of snakes.

The tunnel was closing behind them, leaving them stranded on a tiny ledge. Gale the weasel paced across Hazel’s shoulders.

“Okay, okay,” Leo muttered. “The walls are moving parts. They gotta be mechanical. Give me a second.”

“No, Leo,” Hazel said. “There’s no way back.”

“But –”

“I agree with Hazel,” The Doctor said, grabbing onto Hazel and Leo’s hands. “On three.”

“But –” Leo tried to protest.

“Three!” The Doctor gave a manic grin and jumped into the pit, pulling the other two along with him.

Hazel had her eyes squeezed shut in concentration.

Pasiphaë was laughing in delight.

Then, the Doctor, Hazel, and Leo hit a chute and slid into the cavern, landing directly atop Pasiphaë.

“Ack!” The sorceress’s head smacked against the floor as Leo sat down hard on her chest.

For a moment, the four of them and the weasel were a pile of sprawling bodies and flailing limbs. Hazel was trying to draw her sword, but Pasiphaë managed to extricate herself first. The sorceress backed away, her hairdo bent sideways. Her dress was smeared with grease stains from Leo’s toolbelt.

“The  _ miserable  _ wretches!” She howled.

The maze was gone. About a meter away, Clytius stood with his back to them, watching the Doors of Death. They had thirty-two seconds before Annabeth and Percy would arrive.

“You must really hate demigods,” Hazel said, trying to mimic Pasiphaë’s cruel smile. “We always get the best of you, don’t we Pasiphaë?”

“Nonsense!” Screamed the sorceress. “I will tear you apart! I will –”

“We’re always pulling the rug out from under your feet,” Hazel sympathised. “Your husband betrayed you. Theseus killed the Minotaur and stole your daughter Ariadne. Now three second-rate failures have turned your own maze against you. But you knew it would come to this, didn’t you? You always fall in the end.”

“I am immortal!” Pasiphaë wailed. She took a step back, fingering her necklace. “You cannot stand against me!”

“You can’t stand at all,” Hazel countered. “Look.”

She pointed at the feet of the sorceress. A trapdoor opened beneath her, and she fell, screaming into a bottomless pit that didn’t actually exist.

The floor solidified. The sorceress was gone.

“Hazel, that was incredible!” The Doctor grinned.

Just then, the lift dinged. Rather than pushing the  _ UP  _ button, Clytius stepped back from the controls, keeping their mates inside.

The Doctor didn’t waste a second. He grabbed the first thing from his pocket – his precious Yo-Yo, and chucked it at the lift.

It hit spot-on. 

The Doors of Death opened with a hiss. Black smoke billowed out, and two bodies spilled face-first onto the floor – Percy and Annabeth, limp as corpses.

“No!” The Doctor went to run forwards, but Clytius raised his hand in an unmistakable gesture:  _ Stop _ . He lifted his massive reptilian foot over Percy’s head.

The giant’s smoky shroud poured over the food, covering Percy and Annabeth in a pool of dark fog.

“Clytius, you’ve lost,” The Doctor snarled. “Let them go.”

“We took out Pasiphaë, we’ll take out you too.” Hazel said.

The giant tilted his head. His diamond eyes gleamed. At his feet, Annabeth lurched like she’d been electrocuted. She rolled onto her back, black smoke coiling from her mouth.

_ “I am not Pasiphaë.”  _ Annabeth spoke in a voice that was not her own.  _ “You have won nothing.” _

“Stop it!” The Doctor shouted, his voice threatening and full of venom.

Clytius nudged Percy’s head with his foot. Percy’s face lolled to one side.

_ “Not quite dead.”  _ The giant’s words boomed from Percy’s mouth. _ “A terrible shock to the mortal body, I would imagine, coming back from Tartarus. They’ll be out for a while.” _

He turned his attention back to Annabeth. More smoke poured from between her lips.  _ “I’ll tie them up and take them to Porphyrion in Athens. Just the sacrifice we need. Unfortunately, that means I have no further use for you.” _

“Oh, yeah?” Leo growled. “Well, maybe you got the smoke, buddy, but I’ve got the fire.”

His hands blazed. He shot white-hot columns of flame at the giant, but Clytius’s smoky aura absorbed them on impact. Tendrils of black haze traveled back up the lines of fire, snuffing out the light and heat and covering Leo in darkness.

Leo fell to his knees, clutching at his throat.

“No!” The Doctor shouted. He lunged towards the boy, but Hazel pulled him back.

_ “I would not.”  _ Clytius’s voice reverberated from Leo’s mouth.  _ “You do not understand. I devour magic. I destroy the voice and the soul. You cannot oppose me.” _

Black fog spread farther across the room, covering Annabeth and Percy, grabbing the Doctor.

He collapsed to the ground, smoke reaching into his lungs. His respiratory bypass kicked in, but he could only use it for so long…

“F-fire,” Hazel stammered in a small voice. “You’re supposed to be weak against it.”

The giant chuckled, using the Doctor’s voice:  _ “You were counting on that, eh? It is true I do not like fire. But Leo Valdez’s flames are not strong enough to trouble me.” _

Somewhere behind Hazel, a soft lyrical voice said, “What about  _ my  _ flames, old friend?”

Gale squeaked excited and jumped from Hazel’s shoulder, scampering to the entrance of the cavern where a blonde woman stood in a black dress, the Mist swirling around her.”

The giant stumbled backwards, bumping into the Doors of Death.

_ “You,” _ He said from Percy’s mouth.

“Me,” Hecate agreed. She spread her arms. Blazing torches appeared in her hands. “It has been millennia since I fought at the side of a demigod, but Hazel Levesque has proven herself worthy. What do you say, Clytius? Shall we play with fire?”


	18. Old Friends and New Arrivals

When Clytius saw the goddess’s torches blazing, the giant seemed to recover his wits. He stomped his foot, shaking the floor and nearly stepping on Annabeth’s arm. Dark smoke billowed around him until the Doctor’s vision was completely blinded.

_ “Bold words.”  _ Clytius spoke, but from whose mouth, the Doctor couldn’t see.  _ “You forget, goddess. When we last met, you had the help of Heracles and Dionysus – the most powerful heroes in the world, both of them destined to become gods. Now you bring…these?” _

Through the smoke, the Doctor could see Leo’s unconscious body contort in pain.

“Stop it!” Hazel yelled.

The Doctor suddenly dissolved. He found himself finally able to breathe and on the other side of the room behind Hazel, Leo, Percy, and Annabeth at his feet. The Mist whirled around them, spilling over the stones and enveloping them. Where the white Mist met the dark smoke of Clytius, it steamed and sizzled.

Leo opened his eyes and gasped. “Wh-what…?”

Annabeth and Percy remained motionless. The Doctor crawled towards them, placing a hand on their necks. He could feel their pulses beneath his fingers, beating in harmony. They were okay. They were going to be okay.

The goddess stepped forth, her dark eyes glittering in the torchlight. “You’re right, Clytius. Hazel Levesque is not Heracles or Dionysus, but I think you will find her just as formidable.”

Through the smoky shroud, the Doctor could see the giant open his mouth. No words came out. Clytius sneered in frustration.

Leo tried to sit up. “What’s going on? What can I –”

“Stay behind me.” Hazel drew her spatha. “Stay in the Mist.”

“But –”

Hazel gave him a look, and he nodded.

“Yeah,” He gulped. “Got it. White Mist good. Black smoke bad.”

Hazel advanced. The giant spread his arms. The domed ceiling shook, and the giant’s voice echoed through the room, magnified a hundred times.

_ “Formidable?”  _ The giant demanded. It sounded as though he were speaking through a chorus of the dead, using all the unfortunate souls who’d been buried behind the dome’s stelae.  _ “Because the girl has learned your magic tricks, Hecate? Because you allow these weaklings to hide in your Mist?” _

A sword appeared in the giant’s hand – a Stygian iron blade much like Nico’s, but five times the size.  _ “I do not understand why Gaea would find any of these demigods worthy of sacrifice. I will crush them like empty nutshells.” _

Hazel screamed.

It was a noise the Doctor had never expected to come from the small girl’s body. But she yelled so loud that the walls of the chamber made a crackling sound like ice in warm water, and dozens of gems streaking towards the giant, punching through his armor like buckshot.

Clytius staggered backwards. His disembodied voice bellowed with pain. His iron breastplate was peppered with holes.

Golden ichor trickled from a wound on his right arm. His shroud of darkness thinned. The Doctor could see the murderous expression on his face.

_ “You,”  _ Clytius growled.  _ “You worthless –” _

“Worthless?” Hecate asked quietly. “I’d say Hazel Levesque knows a few tricks even  _ I  _ could not teach her.”

Hazel stood before her friends, determined to defend them.

The giant dug his fingers into the wound on his biceps. He pulled out a diamond and flicked it aside. The wound closed.

_ “So, daughter of Pluto,”  _ Clytius rumbled,  _ “Do you really believe Hecate has your interests at heart? Circe was a favorite of hers. And Medea. And Pasiphaë. How did they end up, eh?” _

Annabeth was beginning to stir, groaning in pain. Percy was muttering something that sounded like, “Bob-bob-bob?”

Clytius stepped forwards, holding his sword casually at his side.  _ “Hecate will not tell you the truth. She sends acolytes like you to do her bidding and take all the risk. If by some miracle you incapacitate me, only then will she be able to set me on fire. Then she will claim the glory of the kill. You heard how Bacchius dealt with Aladai twins in the Colosseum. Hecate is worse. She is a Titan who betrayed the Titans. Then she betrayed the gods. Do you really think she will keep faith with you?” _

Hecate’s face was unreadable.

“I cannot answer his accusations, Hazel,” said the goddess. “This is  _ your  _ crossroads. You must choose.”

_ “Yes, crossroads.”  _ The giant’s laughter echoed. His wounds seemed to have healed completely.  _ “Hecate offers you obscurity, choices, vague promises of magic. I am the anti-Hecate. I will give you truth. I will eliminate choices and magic. I will strip away the Mist, once and for all, and show you the world in all its true horror.” _

Leo struggled to his feet, coughing like an asthmatic. “I’m loving this guy,” He wheezed. “Seriously, we should keep him around for inspirational seminars.” HIs hands ignited like blowtorches. “Or I could just light him up.”

“Leo, no,” Hazel said. “My father’s temple. My call.”

“Yeah, okay. But –”

“Doctor…” Annabeth wheezed. The Doctor’s eyes returned to Annabeth and Percy on the floor.

“Annabeth.” He grinned.

“The chains…” She managed.

The Doctor cursed. “Hazel! The chains!” The Doors of Death were still open, shuddering against the chains that held them in place. They had to cut the chains.

The only problem: The massive smoky giant stood in their way.

_ “You can’t seriously believe you have the strength,”  _ Clytius chided.  _ “What will you do, Hazel Levesque – pelt me with more rubies? Shower me with sapphires?” _

Hazel gave him an answer. She raised her spatha and charged.

Apparently, Clytius hadn’t expected this, as he was slow raising his sword. By the time he slashed, Hazel had ducked between his legs and jabbed her Imperial gold balde up his…Ouch. That had to hurt.

Clytius roared and arched his back, waddling away from her. Mist still swirled around Hael, hissing as it met the giant’s black smoke.

Hazel sprinted towards the Doors of Death. Her blade shattered the chains on the left side like they were made of ice. She lunged to the right, but Clytius yelled,  _ “NO!” _

Thank the gods, Hazel wasn’t cut in half. But the flat of the giant’s blade caught her in the chest, sending her flying. She slammed into the wall. The Doctor could hear her bones crack.

“HAZEL!” The Doctor shouted.

There was a flash of fire. Hecate stood nearby, her form shimmer as though she was about to dissolve. Her torches seemed to be flickering out.

Hazel forced herself to stand, she staggered towards her sword.

“Clytius!” She forced out.

It got his attention. The giant turned from the rest of the crew. He laughed as he saw her limping forwards.

_ “A good try, Hazel Levesque,”  _ Clytius admitted.  _ “You did better than I anticipated. But magic alone cannot defeat me, and you do not have sufficient strength. Hecate has failed you, as she fails all of her followers in the end.” _

The Mist was thinning. Leo had found some ambrosia in his pocket and was trying to force-feed Percy and Annabeth.

Hecate stood with her torches, watching and waiting.

Hazel then threw her sword – not at the giant, but at the Doors of Death. The chains on the right side shattered. Hazel collapsed.

The Doors shuddered and disappeared in a flash of purple light.

Clytius roared so loudly that a half dozen stelae fell from the ceiling and shattered.

“That was for my brother, Nico,” Hazel gasped. “And for destroying my father’s altar.”

_ “You have forfeited your right to a quick death,”  _ the giant snarled.  _ “I will suffocate you in darkness, slowly, painfully. Hecate cannot help you. NO ONE can help you!” _

The goddess raised her torches. “I would not be so certain, Clytius. Hazel’s friends simply needed a little time to reach her – time you have given them with your boasting and bragging.”

Clytius snorted.  _ “What friends? These weaklings? They are no challenge.” _

In front of Hazel, the air rippled. The Mist thickened, creating a doorway, and four people stepped through.

Nico, Piper, Frank, and Jason stood before them, all with their weapons drawn.

“Sorry we’re late,” Jason said. “Is this the guy who needs killing?”   
  


Clytius was attacked from every direction – Leo shooting fire at his legs, Frank and Piper jabbing at his chest, Jason flying into the air and kicking him in the face.

Each time the giant’s smoky veil stared creeping around one of them, Nico was there, slashing through it, drinking in the darkness with his Stygian blade.

Percy and Annabeth tried to get to their feet, clutching their swords – wait, when did Annabeth get a sword? And it looked to be made of… ivory? But the Doctor insisted they stay down. They wanted to help, but there was no need.

Clytius snarled, turning back and forth as if he couldn’t decide which of them to kill first.  _ “Wait! Hold still! No! Ouch!” _

The darkness around him dispelled completely, leaving nothing to protect him except his battered armor. Ichor oozed from a dozen wounds. The damage healed almost as fast as it was inflicted, but the Doctor could tell the giant was tiring.

One last time, Jason flew at him, kicking him in the chest, and the giant’s breastplate shattered. Clytius staggered backwards. His sword dropped to the floor and he fell to his knees. The demigods encircled him.

Only then did Hecate step forwards, her torches raised. Mist curled around the giant, hissing and bubbling as it touched his skin.

“And so it ends,” Hecate said.

_ “It does not end.” _ Clytius’s voice echoed from somewhere above, muffled and slurred.  _ “My brethren have risen. Gaea waits only for the blood of Olympus. It took all of you together to defeat me. What will you do when the Earth Mother opens her eyes?” _

Hecate turned her torches upside down. She thrust them like daggers at Clytius’s head. The giant’s hair went up faster than dry tinder and spread down his head and across his body. Clytius fell without a sound, face-first in the rubble of Hades’s altar. His body crumbled to ashes.

For a moment, all the silent.

Hecate faced Hazel. “You should go now, Hazel Levesque. Lead your friends out of this place.”

Hazel gritted her teeth. “Just like that? No ‘thank you’? No ‘good work’?”

The goddess tilted her head. Gale chittered a quick warning about minding her manners and disappeared in the folds of her mistress’s skirts.

“You look in the wrong place for gratitude,” Hazel said. “As for ‘good work,’ that remains to be seen. Speed your way to athens. Clytius was not wrong. The giants have risen –  _ all  _ of them, stronger than ever. Gaea is on the very edge of waking. The Feast of Hope will be poorly named unless you arrive to stop her.”

The chamber rumbled. Another stela crashed to the floor and shattered.

“The House of Hades is unstable,” Hecate said. “Leave now. We shall meet again.”

The goddess dissolved and the Mist evaporated.

“She’s friendly.” Percy grumbled.

The others turned towards Percy and Annabeth as the Doctor helped them sit up.

“Dude.” Jason gave Percy a massive hug.

“Back from Tartarus!” Leo whooped. “That’s my peeps!”

Piper threw her arms around Annabetha nd cried.

Frank ran to Hazel and gently folded his arms around her. “You’re hurt,” He said.

“Ribs probably broken,” She admitted. “But Frank – what happened to your arm?”

Frank’s arm was bleeding and bandaged, but otherwise he looked okay.

“Long story.” Frank managed a smile. “We’re alive. That’s what matters.”

The Doctor got to his feet and made his way over to Nico. He’d been standing by himself, his expression full of pain and conflict.

“You ‘right?” This caught Hazel’s attention.

“Nico?”

Nico nodded and approached. He embraced the Doctor, then kissed Hazel’s forehead. “I’m glad you’re okay,” He said. “The ghosts were right. Only one of us made it to the Doors of Death. You…you would have made Dad proud.”

She smiled, cupping her hand gently to his face. “We couldn’t have defeated Clytius without you.”

She brushed her thumb under Nico’s eye.

Before anything else could be said, the ceiling shuddered. Cracks appeared in the remaining tiles. Columns of dust spilled down.

“We’ve got to leave.” The Doctor said.

Jason nodded, then looked to the son of Mars. “Uh, Frank…?”

Frank shook his head. “I think one favour from the dead is all I can manage today.”

“Wait, what?” Hazel asked.

Piper raised her eyebrows. “Your  _ unbelievable  _ boyfriend called in a favour as a child of Mars. He summoned the spirits of some dead warriors, made them lead us here through…um, well, I’m not sure, actually. The passages of the dead? All I know is that it was  _ very, very _ dark.”

To their left, a section of the wall split. Two ruby eyes from a carved stone skeleton popped out and rolled across the floor.

“We’ll have to shadow travel,” Hazel said.

The Doctor turned to Nico. “Do you think you can do it?”

Nico winced. “I can barely manage that with only myself. With eight more people –”

“I’ll help you.” Hazel said confidently. 

The Doctor looked at Hazel skeptically. As far as he was aware, she’d never shadow traveled before.

An entire section of tiles peeled loose from the ceiling.

“Everyone, grab hands!” Nico yelled.

They made a hasty circle. The cavern collapsed, and the Doctor could feel himself dissolving into the shadows.

They appeared on the hillside overlooking the River Acheron. The sun was just rising, making the water glitter and the clouds glow orange. The cool morning air smelled of honeysuckle.

The Doctor looked around as the others began to stir.

Nico realized he’d been holding hands with Percy and quickly let go.

Leo staggered backwards. “You know…I think I’ll sit down.”

He collapsed. The others joined him. The  _ Argo II _ still floated over the river a few hundred meters away. They were all aware they should signal Coach Hedge and tell him they were all right, but the group was too tired to do anything but sit and relax and marvel at the fact that they were all alive.

They began to exchange stories.

Frank explained what had happened with the ghostly legion and the army of monsters – how Nico had used the scepter of Diocletian, and how bravely Jason and Piper had fought.

“Frank is being modest,” Jason said. “He controlled the entire legion. You should’ve seen him. Oh, by the way…” Jason glanced at Percy. “I resigned my office, gave Frank a field promotion to praetor. Unless you want to contest that ruling.”

Percy grinned. “No argument here.”

_ “Praetor?”  _ Hazel stared at Frank.

He shrugged uncomfortably. “Well…yeah. I know it seems weird.”

She tried to throw her arms around him, then winced as she seemed to remember her broken ribs. She settled for kissing him. “It seems  _ perfect _ .”

“Congrats, mate.” The Doctor grinned.

Leo clapped Frank on the shoulder. “Way to go, Zhang. Now you can order Octavian to fall on his sword.”

“Tempting.” Frank agreed. He turned apprehensive towards Percy. “But you guys…Tartarus has to be the  _ real  _ story. What happened down there? How did you…?”

Percy laced his fingers through Annabeth’s.

The Doctor glanced over at Nico. There was pain in his eyes. He turned away, only for his eyes to meet the Doctor’s. He gave a sad smile, and then dropped his gaze to his feet.

“We’ll tell you the story,” Percy promised. “But not yet, okay? I’m not ready to remember that place.”

“No,” Annabeth agreed. “Right now…” She gazed towards the river and faltered. “Uh, I think our ride is coming.”

The Doctor turned around only to see the  _ Argo II _ veering to port, its aerial oars in motion, its sails catching the wind. Festus’s head glinted in the sunlight. Even from a distance, the Doctor could hear him creaking and clanking in jubilation.

“That’s my boy!” Leo yelled.

As the ship approached, the Doctor could see Coach Hedge standing at the prow.

“About time!” The coach yelled down. He was doing his bet scowl, but his eyes were gleaming. “What took you so long, cupcakes? You kept your visitor waiting!”

“Visitor?” The Doctor frowned.

At the rail next to Coach Hedge, a dark-haired girl appeared wearing a purple cloak, her face so covered with soot and bloody scratches that she was barely recognizable.

Reyna had arrived.


	19. Picnic Plotting

Leo’s new mechanical hoist system lowered the Athena Parthenos onto the hillside with surprising ease.

“Incredible,” Reyna admitted.

She was still red-eyed from crying. Soon after she’d landed on the  _ Argo II, _ her pegasus Scipio had collapsed, overwhelmed by poisoned claw marks from a gryphon attack the night before. Reyna had put the horse out of his misery with her golden knife, turning the pegasus to dust that scattered into the sweet-smelling Greek air. 

The praetor circled the Athena Parthenos warily. “It looks newly made.”

“Yeah,” Leo said. “We brushed off the cobwebs, used a little Windex. It wasn’t hard.”

The  _ Argo II  _ hovered just overhead. With Festus keeping watch for threats on the radar, the entire crew had decided to eat lunch on the hillside whilst they discussed what to do.

“Reyna!” The Doctor called. “Have something to eat. Join us.”

The praetor glanced over, her dark eyebrows furrowed, as if  _ join us _ didn’t quite compute. 

She hesitated, then finally sighed. “All right.”

They scooted over to make room for her in the circle. She sat cross-legged between Annabeth and the Doctor, picked up a cheese sandwich, and nibbled at the edge.

“So,” Reyna said. “Frank Zhang…praetor.”

Frank shifted, wiping crumbs from his chin. “Well, yeah. Field promotion.”

“To lead a different legion,” Ryena noted. “A legion of ghosts.”

Hazel put a protective arm through Frank’s. After an hour in the sick bay, they both were looking much better, but the Doctor could tell they weren’t so sure what to think about Reyna joining them for lunch.

“Reyna,” Jason said, “You should’ve seen him.”

“He was brilliant.” The Doctor said.

“You weren’t even there.” Frank frowned.

“I didn’t need to be to know you were brilliant.”

Frank smiled. “Thanks, man.”

“He was  _ amazing _ ,” Piper agreed.

“Frank is a leader,” Hazel insisted. “He makes a great praetor.”

Reyna’s eyes stayed on Frank as if analyzing the boy. “I believe you,” She said finally. “I approve.”

Frank blinked. “You do?”

Reyna smiled dryly. “A son of Mars, the hero who helped to bring back the eagle of the legion…I can work with a demigod like that. I’m just wondering how to convince the Twelfth Fulminata.”

Frank scowled. “Yeah. I’ve been wondering the same thing.”

“The legion will listen to you.” The Doctor promised Reyna. “You made it here, alone, to the Ancient Lands.”

Reyna chewed her sandwich as if it was made of cardboard. “In doing so, I broke the laws of the legion.”

“Caesar broke the law when he crossed the Rubicon,” Frank pointed out.

“Sometimes leaders must rise above the rules and do what is best for those they rule over.” The Doctor said. “It’s not their commitment to the rules that makes them great. It’s their loyalty and dedication to their people.”

Reyna sighed, her eyes on the ground. “But I’m no Caesar. After finding Jason’s note in Diocletian’s Palace, tracking you down was easy. I only did what I thought was necessary.”

“Reyna, you’re too modest.” Percy said. “Flying halfway across the world by yourself to answer Annabeth’s plea, because you knew it was our best chance for peace? That’s pretty freaking heroic.”

Reyna shrugged. “Says the demigod who fell into Tartarus and found his way back.”

“He had help,” Annabeth said.

“Oh, obviously,” Reyna said. “Without you, I doubt Percy could find his way out of a paper bag.”

The Doctor let out a snort of laughter as Annabeth said, “True.” and Percy cried,

“Hey!”

The rest of the crew began to laugh.

Then, the Doctor watched Percy’s face fall.

The Doctor frowned at him.  _ You ‘right? _

Percy glanced up and nodded.  _ Yeah, fine. _

The Doctor scoffed and gave him a look that said,  _ We’ll talk about it later. _

Leo pulled a tiny screwdriver from his toolbelt and stabbed a chocolate-covered strawberry and passed it to Coach hedge. Then, he pulled out another screwdriver and speared a second strawberry for himself.

“So the twenty-million-peso question,” Leo said. “We got this slightly used forty foot tall statue of Athena. What do we do with it?”

Reyna squinted at the Athena Parthenos. “As fine as it looks on this hill, I didn’t come all this way to admire it. According to Annabeth, it must be returned to Camp Half-Blood by a Roman leader. Do I understand correctly?”

Annabeth nodded. “I had a dream down in…you know, Tartarus. I was on Half-Blood Hill, and Athena’s voice said,  _ I must stand here. The Roman must bring me.” _

“It makes sense,” Nico said. The boy had been sitting on the other side of the Doctor, his body pressed closely to the Doctor’s as if he was trying to hide behind the Time Lord. He was eating half a pomegranate.

“The statue is a powerful symbol,” Nico said. “A Roman returning it to the Greeks…that could heal the historic rift, maybe even heal the gods of their split personalities.”

Coach Hedge swallowed his strawberry along with half the screwdriver. “Now, hold on. I like peace as much as the next satyr –”

“You  _ hate  _ peace,” Leo said.

“The point is, Valdez, we’re only – what, a few days from Athens? We got an army of giants waiting for us there. We went through all the trouble of saving this statue –”

_ “I  _ went through most of the trouble,” Annabeth reminded him.

“– because that prophecy called it the  _ giants’ bane,”  _ The coach continued. “So why aren’t we taking it to Athens with us? It’s obviously our secret weapon.” He eyed the Athena Parthenos. “It looks like a ballistic missile to me. Maybe if Valdez strapped some negines to it –”

“Right,” The Doctor said, “We’re not doing that.”

“It was a great idea, Coach,” Piper said, “But a lot of us have had dreams and visions of Gaea rising at Camp Half-Blood…”

She unsheathed her dagger Katoptris and set it on her plate. “Since we got back to the ship, I’ve been seeing some bad stuff in the knife. The Roman legion is almost within striking distance of Camp Half-Blood. They’re gathering reinforcements: spirits, eagles, wolves.”

“Octavian,” Reyna growled. “I  _ told  _ him to wait.”

“When we take over command,” Frank suggested, “Our first order of business should be to load Octavian into the nearest catapult and fire him as far away as possible.”

“Agreed,” Reyna said. “But for now –”

“He’s intent on war.” The Doctor murmured darkly. “And unless we stop him, he’ll get it.”

Piper turned the blade of her knife. “Unfortunately, that’s not the worst of it. I saw images of a possible future – the camp in flames, Roman and Greek demigods lying dead. And Gaea…” Her voice failed her.

“So Reyna takes the statue, and we continue on to Athens.” The Doctor said.

Leo shrugged. “Cool with me. But, uh, a few pesky logistical problems. We got what – two weeks until that Roman feast day when Gaea is supposed to rise?”

“The Feast of Spes,” Jason said. “That’s on the first of August. Today is –”

“July eighteenth,” The Doctor offered. “From tomorrow we’ve got fourteen days.”

Hazel winced. “It took us  _ eighteen  _ days to get from Rome to here – a trip that should’ve only taken two or three days, max.”

“So, given our usual luck,” Leo said,  _ “maybe  _ we have enough time to get the  _ Argo II _ to Athens, find the giants, and stop them from waking Gaea.  _ Maybe _ . But how is Reyna supposed to get this massive statue back to Camp Half-Blood before the Greeks and Romans put each other through the blender? She doesn’t even have her pegasus anymore. Uh, sorry –”

“Fine,” Reyna snapped. She may have been treating them as allies rather than enemies, but the Doctor could tell she still had a not-so-soft spot for Leo, likely because he’d blown up half the Forum in New Rome.

She took a deep breath. “Unfortunately, Leo is correct. I don’t see how I can transport something so large. I was assuming – well, I was hoping you all would have an answer.”

“The Labyrinth,” Hazel said. “I – I mean, if Pasiphaë really has reopened it, and I think she  _ has _ …” She looked around apprehensively. “If the Labyrinth really can take you anywhere –”

“No.” Percy, Annabeth, and the Doctor spoke in unison.

“Not to shoot you down, Hazel,” Percy said. “It’s just…” He struggled for the right words. The Doctor completely understood. How to find the right way to describe the Labyrinth to someone who’d never explored it? Yes, it could take one anywhere, but distance was meaningless. One could enter in New York, walk five meters, and exit in Los Angeles – but only if one could find a reliable way to navigate.”

“For one thing,” Percy finally said, “the passages in the Labyrinth are way too small for the Athena Parthenos. But there's no chance you could take it down there –”

“And even if the maze  _ is  _ reopening,” Annabeth continued, “We don’t know what it might be like now. It was dangerous enough before, under Daedalus’s control, and he wasn’t evil. If Pasiphaë has remade the Labyrinth the way she wanted…”

“Hazel, there’s a chance you could guide Reyna through, but we need you here. If you get lost down there –”

“You’re right,” Hazel said glumly. “Nevermind.”

Reyna cast her eyes around the group. “Other ideas?”

“I could go,” Frank offered, not sounding all that happy about it. “If I’m a praetor, I  _ should _ go. Maybe we could rig some sort of sled, or –”

“No, Frank Zhang.” Reyna gave him a weary smile. “I hope we will work side by side in the future, but for now your place is with the crew of this ship. You are one of the seven of the prophecy.”

“Then perhaps I should go.” The Doctor said. “I’m not in the prophecy.”

“No.” Nico said suddenly. “I’ll go.”

Everyone stopped eating.

“Nico,” The Doctor said. “Nico, you –”

“I can transport the statue.” He said. “With shadow-travel.”

“Nico, you know better than any of us that shadow traveling is dangerous and unpredictable.” The Doctor said.

“I’ve gotten better. I’ve changed since I came back from Tartarus.” Nico promised. “I can do it.”

“Nico –” The Doctor began, but Nico cut him off.

“I’ll make a few short jumps – a few hundred miles at a time. It’s true, after each jump I won’t be in any shape to fend off monsters. I’ll need Reyna to defend me and the statue.”

“I see no better option.” Reyna said. “But there will be  _ many  _ monster attacks. I would feel better taking a third person. That’s the optimal number for a quest.”

“Coach Hedge.” The Doctor suddenly said.

Nico frowned, “Doctor? But, I was hoping…since you’re not, you know…”

“He’s the best choice.” The Doctor said softly. “He’s a brilliant fighter, certified protector. He can do it.”

Nico looked at the Doctor. His eyes pleading:  _ Please. I need you to come with me. _

_ I can’t. _ The Doctor stared back. _ Please. Take him back to his family. _

He was aware Nico did not know about the Coach’s wife and unborn child. But the desperate look in his eyes were enough to convince Nico.

“I’ll go.” The Coach said. “Besides, when you get to Camp Half-Blood, you’ll need somebody with connections and diplomatic skills to keep the Greeks from attacking you. Just let me go make a call – er, I mean, get my baseball bat.”

He got up and shot the Doctor a grateful look.

Nico rose. “I should go, too, and rest before the first passage. We’ll meet at the statue at sunset.”

Once he’d gone, the Doctor locked eyes with Reyna.

“Keep him safe.”

“I will.” She promised.

“You’d better.”

Reyna examined the Doctor, clearly curious as to why he was so fiercely defensive of the boy now.

Hazel passed her hand over the ground. Diamonds broke the surface – a glittering milky way of stones. “We’re at another crossroads. The Athena Parthenos goes west. The  _ Argo II _ goes east. I hope we chose correctly.”

“One thing bothers me,” Percy said. “If the Feast of Spes is in two weeks, and Gaea needs the blood of two demigods to wake – what did Clytius call it? The blood of Olympus? – then aren’t we doing exactly what Gaea wants, heading to Athens? If we don't go, and she can’t sacrifice any of us, doesn’t that mean she can’t wake up fully?”

Annabeth took his hand. “Percy, prophecies cut both ways. If we  _ don’t  _ go, we may lose our best and only chance to stop her. Athens is where our battle lies. We can’t avoid it. Besides, trying to thwart prophecies never works. Gaea could capture us somewhere else, or spill the blood of some other demigods.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Percy said. “I don’t like it, but you’re right.”

Well!” Piper sheathed her blade and patted her cornucopia. “Good picnic. Who wants dessert?”

At sundown, the Doctor found Nico tying ropes around the pedestal of the Athena Parthenos.

“You sure you’ll be all right?”

Nico turned around. “Of course I will.”

The Doctor hesitated. He wasn’t sure what else to say, but he wanted to say  _ something _ .

As it turned out, he didn’t have to, as Percy approached the two boys.

“Thank you.” He said to Nico.

Nico frowned. “What for?”

“You promised to lead the others to the House of Hades,” Percy said. “You did it.”

Nico tied the ends of the ropes together, making a halter. “You got me out of that bronze jar in Rome. Saved my life yet again. It was the least I could do.”

His voice was steely and guarded.

The Doctor stood up. “I’ll be right back. Nico…” He hesitated. “Try to, y’know. Closure and all that.”

Nico smiled. “Yeah.”

Percy looked incredibly confused as the Doctor walked away.

He watched them talk from a little ways away – far enough that he couldn’t hear their conversation. Nico deserved privacy.

A few minutes later, Nico caught his eye and beckoned him. He returned just as Annabeth reached the top of the hill as well.

“Good luck,” She told Nico.

“Yeah.” He didn’t meet her eyes. “You, too.”

A minute later, Reyna and Coach Hedge arrived in full armor with rucksacks over their shoulders. Reyna looked grim and ready for combat. Coach Hedge was grinning wide.

Reyna gave the Doctor a hug. “We will succeed,” She promised.

“I wouldn’t doubt you for a second.” The Doctor said.

Coach Hedge shouldered his baseball bat. “Yeah, don’t worry. I’m going to get to camp and see my baby!” He then suddenly seemed to realize the others were there as well. “Uh, I mean I’m going to get this baby to camp!” He patted the leg of the Athena Parthenos.

“Stay safe.” The Doctor begged Nico.

Nico smirked. “You know me.”

“Yeah, I do.” The Doctor said.

“I’ll do my best.” He promised.

That was really the best the Doctor could get.

“All right,” Nico said. “Grab the ropes, please. Here we go.”

Reyna and Coach Hedge took hold. The air darkened. The Athena Parthenos collapsed into its own shadow and disappeared along with its three escorts.

The  _ Argo II _ sailed after nightfall.

They veered southwest until they reached the coast, then splashed down in the Ionian Sea. It would’ve been a shorter trip to Athens over land, but they all knew it would be much safer to sail around the Greek mainland, following the routes that many Greek heroes had taken.

“I can’t stop thinking about Tartarus.” Percy admitted as he and the Doctor sat in the boy’s room. “Do the – do the nightmares ever…” Percy closed his eyes. “Do they ever stop, Doctor? Will I ever be able to forget that place?”

The Doctor wanted to tell him he would. That one day it would disappear from his memories. But instead he said, “I don’t know, Percy.”

“But if your nightmares didn’t…”

“How did you –”

“Whenever you would sleep,” Percy admitted, “On the occasions I would wake up first…You would be thrashing and shouting…I don’t really know what you were saying – it wasn’t in English or anything, but I assumed…I’d always try to make some loud noises, get you to wake up…”

The Doctor was silent for a long moment, then finally said, “It will get better. It won’t ever be the same, but it will hurt a lot less.”

Percy looked up hopefully. “Promise?” 

“Promise.” The Doctor lied.

They sailed off into the night, leaving the House of Hades behind them.


End file.
